Naruto: Eyes of Samsara and Rage of the Kyuubi
by GetsugaMoon12
Summary: What if Nagato had attacked the Hidden Leaf instead of Tobi? What if Minato had gotten through to him and he had given Naruto the Rinnegan? Watch as Iruka, Kakashi, Zabuza and many more are shocked at Naruto's power and he becomes greater friends with everybody we know. Oh and this goes against the manga but Naruto can deactivate his Rinnegan if he wants.
1. Chapter 1

Well, hey, guys; this is my first fanfiction on Naruto because I really wanted to write about a much stronger Naruto than when we saw him in his younger days, allowing Sasuke to get the spotlight. I hope you guys really like it and please give me some feedback on this story so I know what to improve. Well, enjoy!

**Chapter 1**: _The Kyuubi Incident_

"Minato," Kushina said, looking at her husband gratefully. Just moments ago, she had given birth to her son, Naruto. Minato looked her and smiled excitedly. "Yosh!" the blonde declared. "I know you've just gone through childbirth but I need to seal the Kyuubi away." Having said that, the Yondaime Hokage placed his hand on the seal; over Kushina's stomach.

Behind them, Minato and Kushina heard a couple of screams. The blonde turned to see a red-haired man holding their newborn baby. "Yondaime Hokage," the man rasped. "Step away from the jinchuuriki if you want to see your son live!" Minato could see the man had the Rinnegan. _No way, I thought the Rinnegan was only a legend, _Minato thought.

"Step away from the jinchuuriki," the man repeated. He brought a kunai close to Naruto, who had begun to cry. "Please, calm down!" Minato said, trying to stall. The man simply chuckled before saying, "I'm as calm as can be. Speak for yourself, Minato!"

Having said that, the red-haired Rinnegan-user threw Naruto in the air. With Kushina's screams echoing behind him, Minato grabbed Naruto with expert reflexes. "I must hand it to the Yellow Flash," his adversary praised. "But how will you deal with this?" Minato immediately noticed some exploding tags sizzling from Naruto's cloth, his eyes widening.

Acting quickly, he used his Flying Thunder God Jutsu to transport himself and Naruto to a warehouse he had kept one of his Flying Thunder God kunai in. Minato quickly threw away Naruto's cloth and rushed out of the warehouse, barely making it as it exploded behind the blonde Hokage. Minato held Naruto as the baby cried, his relief evident.

_His target, _Minato realized, _was Kushina. And he succeeded in separating us. I must hurry!_ He quickly pulled out a piece of wood sticking to the his foot and disappeared using his Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Minato appeared in another warehouse, where he quickly set Naruto in a cradle.

Meanwhile, Nagato had made several seals around a watery clearing, which held Kushina via two black chakra ropes. "W-why are you doing this?" Kushina asked, panting heavily from the childbirth. The man lowered his black hood, revealing himself to be Nagato, the Toad Sage Jiraiya's disciple. "I intend to release the Kyuubi from you," he said, "and destroy Konoha with it."

"W-what?" Kushina's eyes widened, staring into Nagato's cold Rinnegan eyes.

"Yes," Nagato said. "Minato's Space-Time jutsu allows him to teleport to places instantly marked by his Jutsu Formulas. He has placed it on your seal as well to protect you. However, I have created a good distance between you two. Furthermore, the Kyuubi's seal has weakened considerably during the childbirth process so it makes my job much easier."

Kushina's eyes widened as she felt Nagato stare at the Kyuubi residing in her stomach. The Rinnegan's Outer Path ability allowed Nagato to place Bijuu under his control by utlizing chakra chains and receivers. He quickly thrust his hand out, causing a purple chakra chain to emerge and go into the seal.

The Kyuubi roared indignantly, as a purple chakra chain twisted itself around its neck. Kyuubi's eyes changed from their fiery red to the Rinnegan, signifying Nagato's control, before changing back to the original eye colour. Outside of the seal, Kushina had become covered in a red chakra cloak and her stomach began to glow. "Yes," Nagato said. "Come out, Kyuubi!"

A chakra-covered shape rose out of Kushina's seal, before the Kyuubi rose out of the chakra. Its nine tails shook with fury. "Yosh," Nagato said. "It's time to head to Konoha so I can destroy it." As he began to walk away, he heard Kushina's faint voice. "Wait," she said, weakly.

Nagato smirked. "Uzumkai shinobi like us are truly exceptional," he said, shocking Kushina since he was from her clan. "Why do you think my Rinnegan doesn't kill me when I keep it active all the time? It's because our life force and chakra are so great that I do not get affected by keeping it on the entire time. To test my control over the Kyuubi, how about I let it kill you?"

Having said that, Nagato threw a black rod at the Kyuubi, who did not move. The rod impaled itself into the beast's fur. Kyuubi roared as Nagato's chakra chain re-appeared for a moment before disappearing. Then, in a blink of an eye, the Bijuu had brought its hand down, pulverzing a large amount of land beneath its limb.

Fortunately, Minato had used his Flying Thunder God Jutsu to rescue Kushina and had managed to move out of the Kyuubi's line of attack. "Minato," Kushina said, greatly weakened. "Is Naruto safe?" The blonde Hokage simply nodded and reassured, "Yeah, he's very safe, now!"

Minato quickly left the area with Kushina, re-appearing in the safe warehouse. He set Kushina down beside Naruto, who she hugged as she let out a few tears. Minato made a fist before rushing out and putting on his Hokage coat. "I'll be back," he promised before leaving the warehouse in a yellow flash.

The peaceful night that Konoha was enjoying was disturbed when Nagato arrived with the Kyuubi. He simply stood on the Hokage Monument and watched as the greatly-revered Bijuu began to destroy the village of his teacher, Jiraiya. _Jiraiya-sensei, _Nagato thought, unable to leave out some guilt. Quickly composing himself, Nagato exerted some control on the Kyuubi so it could get the job done with a Bijuu Dama.

As the Kyuubi let the ball of dense chakra loose, it shot straight towards the Hokage Monument. Then, it was seemingly absorbed by the Hokage Monument. _Minato Namikaze, _Nagato realized. _This must be his Flying Thunder God Jutsu used on a larger scale._

Sure enough, quite some distance away, there was a large explosion. Nagato quickly sighed before going to meet Minato. The Yondaime Hokage simply batted aside his hand and backed away, holding out his tri-pronged kunai. "I'm your opponent...and it's all over for you," Nagato said as he charged towards Minato. The blonde tried to dodge but Nagato grabbed his arm. Using the Preta Path, Nagato began to drain Minato of his chakra.

Realizing this, Minato quickly used his Flying Thunder God to move away. Since Nagato had been holding his arm, the Rinnegan-user came with him although he was forced to let go of the blonde once they arrived at. Getting back on his feet, Nagato said, "I won't let you get away, this time!"

Minato straightened. He quickly got up and faced the red-haired Uzumaki. _A shinobi who outmaneuvered the ANBU assigned by the Sandaime, who slipped through a top-secret barrier and who knew the Kyuubi's seal would weaken during childbirth. Furthermore, he undid the Kyuubi's seal, tamed it, and is a trained user of the Rinnegan, the strongest bloodline in the world._ "Well," Nagato surmised. "It seems you've finished going over how strong I am."

"But why are you targeting Konoha?" Minato asked Nagato, who simply chuckled. "I could say I did it on a whim, or I had planned it, or that it's war, or that it's for peace." Having said that, his hand came out of his sleeves with two chakra rods. _In any case, this is no ordinary man, _Minato thought. _He has the Rinnegan and its unknown jutsu and some dangerous idealogy. I need to take him down now or he will become a greater threat than the Kyuubi!_

"Weren't you Jiraiya's student?" Minato asked. "That makes us sibling disciples. What would our master say if he saw you trying to destroy his village?"

"I'm not his student any more," Nagato said. "And this is for peace; by destroying Konoha, I am only eliminating the corrupt ninja that attacked Amegakure in the war. I have absolute right!"

Minato dodged Nagato's first blow and tried to kick him. Nagato simply sidestepped it before saying, "**Shinra Tensei**." The gravitational force acted against Minato, repelling him and sending him flying backwards. He regained his footing and saw Nagato already coming at him. "**Water Style: Wild Water Wave**," he said and a large wave of water came towards Minato.

Using his Flying Thunder God Jutsu, Minato appeared on the other side of the clearing. "**Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu**," Nagato yelled, expelling a blast of fire towards Minato. _Two elements, already, _Minato thought. Shinobi usually only used techniques of their elemental affinity but it seemed the Rinnegan allowed Nagato to use all five elemental affinities.

Coming up with a plan, Minato threw his kunai at Nagato. He simply dodged the blade and yelled, "**Bansho Ten'nin**." Minato immediately flew towards the Rinnegan user. But as he did so, he quickly brought out the Rasengan. "So that's the famous Rasengan," Nagato deduced. "I've heard of it but this is my first seeing it in action."

Nagato's hand shot towards Minato's open throat while the Yondaime thrust the Rasengan towards Nagato's hand. _Whoever gets there the fastest, _they both realized, _will win_. As Nagato's hand closed around Minato's throat, the blonde vanished. Nagato turned to see Minato having gone to the kunai he had thrown earlier. "This is my Flying Thunder God Level 2," he explained. Just as Minato's Rasengan grazed Nagato's back, the latter yelled: "**Shinra Tensei**."

Minato went flying back although regained his footing. _Darn, _he thought. _I was too late. _But Nagato had taken some damage as his back had become horribly burned from the Rasengan. _Thank god I wasn't hit completely; I wouldn't have lived through that. _"So," Nagato struggled. "This is what is meant by 'elusive.' You-"

He never finished as Minato appeared right in front of him, one hand on Nagato's chest. _I was marked by one of his Jutsu Formulas,_ Nagato realized. A seal splayed across Nagato's chest. "With this," Minato said. "The Kyuubi is no longer yours." In the distance, the purple chakra chain across the Kyuubi disappeared and the chakra receiver in its fur was destroyed. The Rinnegan in its eye was gone permanently.

"I failed my mission," Nagato said as Minato flung him away.

"Why did you attack Konohagakure? I don't think it was out of revenge as you said earlier," Minato said. "I think you were on someone's orders to attack the village."

"I would never tell you," Nagato said. A moment later, a small Rasengan crashed against his chest, sending the Uzumaki plummeting backwards. "Answer me!" Minato said, enraged. "WHY DID YOU ATTACK MY WIFE AND SON?"

Nagato simply just slumped to the ground, unconscious. Minato wasted no time as he collected Nagato and returned to the village using his Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Arriving there, he used the Summoning Jutsu to summon Gamabunta and to restrain the Kyuubi before he used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to move the Kyuubi from the village to the safe warehouse.

"Minato," Kushina exclaimed, running up to him. She had regained a good bit of her chakra and managed to restrain the Kyuubi using her own chakra chains and made a barrier for the sealing. "Seal it into me and we will die together," Kushina pleaded her husband. "You can look after Naruto and raise him. Besides, I'm close to running out of chakra."

Meanwhile, Nagato had woken up. He looked around and saw the parents with their kid. "This is Naruto," Minato said, pointing to his newborn son. "We named him after Jiraiya-sensei's protagonist in his first book, who was based after you, Nagato."

The Uzumaki's eyes widened, tears threatening to fall from his Rinnegan eyes. Jiraiya-sensei had taken him for his first book. "It's too late," he shook his head. "I have failed my mission and now, I'm running out of time just like you two."

"Tell me," Minato said. "Under whose orders were you to do all this, Nagato."

"It was...Uchiha Madara," Nagato said after some reluctance. "He ordered me to do this as this is the first step to peace. He's intending to make an organization known as the Akatsuki his own and he will hunt down Bijuu to create a weapon that will plummet this world into war, and then make peace."

Minato's eyes widened. _I will never be able to relay this to the Sandaime, _he realized. The Kyuubi gave a roar and broke one of Kushina's chains. "Minato," Kushina said, warning him. "I know," the blonde sighed. "We will have to seal the Kyuubi in...Naruto."

"WHAT!" Both Nagato and Kushina said. "Why, Minato," Kushina said. "He'll be completely alone and will have a heavy burden in life." Even Nagato was shaking his head, "A Bijuu is nothing but hatred and for a child to have that...this cursed Rinnegan would be nothing compared to it."

"Understand," Minato told them, mainly Kushina. "If what Nagato says is true, then our son will need the Kyuubi's power to fight Madara Uchiha. Besides, I trust Naruto to end the cycle of hatred as he is the 'Child of Prophecy.'" Turning his head, Minato saw that Nagato had tears in his eyes. "It's impossible," the Uzumaki muttered. "There is no way to gain peace without hatred."

"That's not true," Minato said, taking out Jiraiya's book, _The Tales of the Gusty Ninja. _"'If there is an answer, I will seize it. I will end this cycle of hatred and never give up. So give up on me giving up.' My Naruto will show this to the whole world and he will change it." Seeing Nagato's astonished look, he added, "I have my trust that he will find the answer."

As the Kyuubi broke through another chain, Minato immediately began to start making hand-seals. "I will summon the Shinigami and I will seal the Kyuubi's Yang chakra into Naruto and seal the Yin into myself. The entire Kyuubi is too much to be handled by Naruto. So go ahead, Kushina, say your last words to him."

"Naruto," Kushina began, smiling and crying at the same time. "Make sure you remain healthy and make good friends. They don't have to be a lot but make sure you can trust them with your heart. Become stronger and stronger by seeking out different people and I also believe you can do find the answer to this endless cycle of hatred. And remember, I love you, son!"

As both parents said that, Nagato's voice rang out. "Wait," the Uzumaki said. They turned to see that Nagato had gotten up, coughing blood. "I need to give the boy a parting gift from the sibling disciple of his father." Minato and Kushina looked at each other, thinking of the best way to say no. "I want to give him," Nagato said, "my Rinnegan."

Minato and Kushina's tear-filled eyes widened. "You what?" Minato asked, not trusting his ears. Nagato smiled weakly. "I want to give the boy my Rinnegan eyes so that I can see the future he takes. Naruto," he said, addressing the boy directly, "make sure Jiraiya's third volume, you, are much better than me, the second volume, and a failure. Make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did. Be like Jiraiya, the perfect first volume."

"Alright," Kushina said, looking at Nagato. "If you're serious about this, then I can transplant your Rinnegan eyes into my son's."

"But," Minato's voice cut in. "I will make a seal so that he can only activate it if he is 12 years or older and only if under a moment of great physical or emotional pressure. He shouldn't flaunt it like the Uchiha and I will make it so. I will also seal some of Nagato's, mine, and your chakra into Naruto so he can have some time with us. Now, come on, transplant the Rinnegan!"

While Kushina was no expert in medical ninjutsu, she managed to put Nagato's eyes into Naruto's and Minato made the seal so that Naruto had to be 12 or older and under pressure to bring out the Rinnegan. Out of chakra, Nagato gave a final smile before dying. Minato made a Rasengan and destroyed the Uzumaki's body so that people couldn't find out about the ninja; that was when he heard the Kyuubi breaking its chains.

Minato quickly summoned the Shinigami just as the Kyuubi was breaking the last chain holding it in place. As the Kyuubi tried to kill Naruto, both of his parents took the blow and they sealed the mighty Bijuu into their newborn son, Naruto. "You will be the hero in Jiraiya's story and will become much bigger than I could," Minato whispered, as his life was sealed away by the Shinigami. "Naruto, become truly strong and protect the people closest to you with your life," Kushina also whispered to their son before she ran out of chakra.

The Sandaime Hokage and his ninja found Naruto, crying and he could see the seal glowing. _So Minato sealed it inside his own son, eh? _Sarutobi gave a laugh before he began to mourn his student's student's death. He also later found a letter to him, which was written by Minato to him. It mentioned the Yondaime and how he did not want Naruto to know Minato was his father until he made chunin or was seventeen years old. Thus, Naruto was to keep his mother's name: Uzumaki.

The letter also mentioned that Naruto be viewed as a hero that helped by containing the Kyuubi and that the boy never be put in harm's way or used as a weapon. The Sandaime promised that he would do his best to fulfill the Yondaime Hokage's wishes. _Aw man, _Sarutobi thought. _I guess I'll have to come out of retirement and be Hokage for a few more decades._


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, guys, how are you all? This is the second chapter for my fanfiction of Naruto. I'm going to post up four chapters so I'm done with Wave and then, I'm going to begin the Chunin Exams but that's several weeks from now. Well, anyways, enjoy the second chapter!

**Chapter 2: **_The Graduation Exam_

Naruto grinned goofily. Tomorrow, the Graduation Exam would occur. He would prove to his teachers that he was good enough to become a genin. _Then chunin. Then jonin. Then hokage_, Naruto thought. _The old man will have to retire when he sees how strong I'll become._ In half an hour, he would meet Iruka, his favorite teacher at the Academy.

While he and Iruka had gone off to a bad start, the two had begun to meet at Ichiraku Ramen and he had found out that Iruka was quite nice. Besides, the chunin instructor offered Naruto some good tips on what he needed to improve, especially the Clone Jutsu. After putting on his orange jacket and orange cargo pants, the blonde quickly took off into the street.

After a while, he made to Ichiraku Ramen. This store was probably also the only store which did want Naruto and liked talking to him. Such a large contrast to the other stores, who did not even let him enter. _I still don't understand why, _thought Naruto. He had mentioned it to the Hokage but all the old man did was say, "Don't worry, Naruto; I'm sure you can ignore them." And then, next time, the people would be gone only to be replaced by new people that hated him.

"Yosh," Iruka said, as Naruto joined him. "Teuchi-san, two bowls of miso ramen, please." The elderly cook smiled and said, "Coming right up!" He left to get their meals, leaving Ayame to clean the dishes. "So, Iruka-sensei," Naruto beamed at him. "Can you tell me what's coming up in the test?"

Iruka sighed. "Come on, Naruto," he said. "I told everyone in class; don't you ever listen to me?"

"Yeah, I do, sensei," Naruto said. "But just not that time..."

"Fine," the pony-tailed chunin relented. "First, there is the written test. It will be over geography, history, mathematics, and shinobi arts. This will be 20 percent of your grade. Then comes the projectile-test; so a test of your accuracy with weapons. This will be 30 percent of your grade. After that, there is the taijutsu test where you will be asked to spar against an examiner. This will be 20 percent of your grade. Finally, the ninjutsu test where you need to perform the Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, and Replacement Jutsu. This is another 30 percent of your grade."

"Wow," Naruto said. "How much do I need to pass the exam?"

"You need to have at least 70 percent to pass with the lowest scores," Iruka answered. "But Naruto, I want you to pass with 80-90 percent of your grade. I know the written test will be hard for you but you should be able to answer at least half of the questions on it; there will be 40 questions approximately. The other tests should be easy if you have worked hard."

After they ate their ramen, the teacher and student said bye to each other. Naruto went home and began to practice his shuriken and kunai-throwing, taijutsu, and ninjutsu for the test. He went to sleep, determined he would get good marks in the Graduation Exam

The next day, everyone was excited yet nervous. Well, almost everyone aside from Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino. The Nara just said, "What a drag!" Choji was too busy stuffing his face with chips while Shino analysed the situation and said, "Observation states that I have enough abilities to get satisfactory or more marks in this examination."

Naruto meanwhile was staring at a certain Uchiha. _What's so special about him? _Naruto thought, glaring at the raven-haired Sasuke. _Well, I need to show him that I'm better than him. _The horde of fangirls smiling at Sasuke only seemed to infuriate Naruto further. _It's always about Sasuke._ "QUIET, BRATS," Iruka yelled, immediately quelling all of the noise. "We're going to begin your examination in a minute. We will start with the written test. Please follow Mizuki-sensei to the examination room."

After the written test, in which Naruto had skipped all of the mathematics questions and history questions to do only ten geography and shinobi arts questions. And some of those were even wrong! Next up was the projectile test.

Everyone in the class had scored perfect results on shuriken and kunai throwing. Naruto had as well so it had gotten him around 29 percent. In the taijutsu test, he had been paired off with some random civilian kid who Naruto had managed to defeat although with some difficulty. So Naruto had gotten around 17 percent.

Finally, Iruka was the examiner for the ninjutsu test. "When your name is called," Iruka said. "You need to perform the Clone, Transformation, and Replacement Jutsus." He began testing the students. Around midline, Naruto was called to go inside.

Iruka and Mizuki were there, looking at Naruto. Mizuki shot a encouraging look at Naruto whilst Iruka just nodded at the blonde, although he could tell Iruka was looking forward to this. "Alright, perform the Transformation Jutsu," Iruka said to Naruto, who grinned. _Ha, easy!_

"Transformation Jutsu," Naruto yelled, as smoke filled the area. He had transformed into a replica of the Yondaime Hokage. "Alright, now do the Replacement Jutsu with this chair, over here." Now Naruto was not as sure with this jutsu but he still gathered up his chakra and yelled, "Replacement Jutsu." When the smoke cleared, Naruto was only half way to where the chair was earlier and the same for the chair.

Iruka groaned since Naruto had failed the Replacement. "Okay, Naruto," he called. "Now, do the Clone Jutsu." As Naruto did it, the smoke cleared to reveal a lifeless and dead-looking clone on the floor beside the blonde. Sighing heavily, Iruka said, "You failed, Naruto."

"Iruka-sensei," Mizuki called. "Naruto _did _manage to make a clone albeit weak. This is his third time doing the Graduation Exam so he is very determined. Maybe we should pass him-"

"Mizuki-sensei," Iruka said, evenly. "Naruto scored 5 percent on his written test, 29 percent on his projectile test, 17 percent in the taijutsu test, and now only 10 percent in the ninjutsu test. He has 61 percent and the requirement is that he needs to get at least 70 percent to pass. I cannot pass him, Mizuki-sensei."

On his swing, Naruto watched sadly as everyone talked with themselves. "I passed with flying colours," one said while the other said, "Iruka-sensei was very impressed by me." He could also hear some girls talking about him and how he should have failed the test, almost bringing the blonde to tears. "Naruto," a voice said behind the blonde. He turned to find Mizuki there, smiling at him.

As they sat on a balcony overlooking the sunset, Mizuki prompted, "Iruka-sensei can be difficult but he is definitely not against you."

"Then, why?" Naruto said, looking down. "Why did he fail only me?"

"He wants you to be very strong and for that, he cannot go easy on you," Mizuki said. "He's a lot like you, you know. Both of you are orphans; no parents, no siblings, no family."

"But," Naruto said. "This time I really wanted to graduate from the Academy and become a shinobi."

Mizuki smiled. "Well," he said. "There is a way you can pass."

Naruto looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

"It's a secret," Mizuki said. "But I'm going to let you in on it, Naruto."

Meanwhile, as Iruka lay in bed, he thought back to his conversation with the Sandaime.

FLASHBACK

_"Iruka," the Sandaime said._

_"Yes, sir," Iruka said. "What is it?"_

_"I know how you feel; you grew up just like Naruto. Without knowing the love of a father, mother; the warmth of a family."_

FLASHBACK END

After that, Iruka had dozed off thinking about the Kyuubi incident where his parents had sacrificed themselves. Then, he heard a voice yelling outside his door, "Iruka-sensei, get up!"

"What?" Iruka opened the door. "What is it?"

"It's Naruto," Mizuki explained, looking panicked. "He stole the sacred Scroll."

"The Scroll of Seals? NO," Iruka said as he quickly got dressed and left to report to the Sandaime.

"Alright, let's see," Naruto said, as he opened the Scroll of Seals. "The first jutsu is...Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. Aw, man, just the regular Clone Jutsu is my worst jutsu."

Meanwhile, the Sandaime had summoned as many jonin as possible. "Hokage-sama," one of them said. "This is not a prank anymore; stealing the Scroll of Seals from your office is a serious crime."

"That scroll contains secret and forbidden jutsu that were sealed by the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama, personally," another jonin said.

"Alright," the Sandaime sighed. "Bring Naruto here at once." He waved his hand and all of the assembled jonin immediately began their search, leaving with extreme speed.

Meanwhile, Mizuki headed through the streets, smirking. _Now that I told everyone of what Naruto has done, _Mizuki thought. _I can eliminate him and keep the Scroll of Seals for myself._

As Naruto panted from his rigorous training, he felt a shadow on him. He looked up to see Iruka scowling at him. "Brat," he scowled. "It's all over, Naruto." Iruka chuckled, feeling proud he had found the little prankster first. Naruto gave off a sheepish chuckle, causing Iruka to sigh. "What are you up to, squirt?"

"So," Naruto said. "Looks like you caught me already. I only had time to practice one of the jutsu here. So, wait, I'm going to show you this jutsu and then, you can let me pass right? That's how it works right?"

"Huh?" Iruka said, confused. "Who told you that?"

"Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said, confused that Iruka was confused. "He told me about it and he also told me where you find this scroll. He told me to come to this training ground."

Iruka's eyes widened as he realized what Mizuki did. The next moment, Naruto was pushed away by Iruka before the pony-tailed chunin was assaulted by several kunai, which made minor wounds in the instructor. "I see," Iruka said. "I should have known."

Mizuki appeared on a branch. "Naruto," he called. "Give me the Scroll of Seals."

Naruto hesitated, completely confused. "Wait a minute," he said. "What in the world is going on here?"

Iruka panted as he removed the kunai holding him. "Naruto," he rasped. "Don't let Mizuki get that scroll. It contains forbidden jutsu that can put Konoha in great danger. Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself; for his _own _power."

As Naruto glared at Mizuki, the chunin smiled. "Naruto," he reasoned. "Iruka's just lying to you since he doesn't want you to get the scroll."

"Stop lying, Mizuki," Iruka said. "Don't let him get the scroll, Naruto."

"Oh, so I'm lying, am I?" Mizuki chuckled. "I'll tell you whose really lying. They've lied to you your entire life, Naruto. It was a decree made 12 years ago, which everyone knows except you. Iruka's lying to you even right now; he'd do anything to shut me up right now."

"What decree are you talking about?" Naruto asked, wondering what everyone was hiding from him. "Why does everyone know but I don't?"

"That the Kyuubi no Yokou that attacked our village twelve years ago and killed so many innocent people now resides within you. It has taken over your body; _you _are the Kyuubi." Naruto's eyes widened and he could now understand why people had always hated him. He didn't register Iruka yelling or Mizuki throwing his large shuriken at Naruto until the last moment.

Fortunately, Iruka took the shuriken to his back, saving Naruto. Tears dropped from Iruka's eyes and fell on Naruto's face. "I'm sorry, Naruto," he said. "When I lost my parents, nobody seemed to care. They didn't have time for me and forgot I was even alive. My grades dropped and I became the class clown. I did crazy things to catch their attention since I wanted someone to validate my existence. Then, I had to pay for it...It was hard. I know how you feel, Naruto. I let you down, you had to suffer so much."

"Don't kid me," Mizuki laughed. "Your parents were killed because of the Kyuubi. And now it's inside Naruto. You'll do anything to get the scroll from him, won't you?" At that, Naruto fled away leaving Iruka to scream his name.

Mizuki dropped the act and came down from the tree. "You know, when he's set on doing something, nothing can change his mind. You saw his eyes didn't you; those are the eyes of a demon that wants to exact his revenge on the village. Naruto will use that scroll to try to destroy Konoha."

Iruka's eyes were shaded as he got up. "Naruto isn't like that," he said, throwing Mizuki's shuriken back at the white-haired chunin, who simply sidestepped as the weapon whizzed past. "You're a joke," he said. "When I finish him, I'll be back for you." Having said that, Mizuki quickly disappeared behind Naruto, leaving Iruka struggling to move.

As Naruto was running, Iruka appeared beside him. "Naruto, everything Mizuki said was a lie. He only wants the scroll; give it to me!" Naruto glared at him and head-butted Iruka, who went plummeting down and crashed against the ground. "How, Naruto?" Iruka said, revealing himself to be Mizuki using Transformation. "How did you know I was not Iruka?"

Naruto grinned, before disappearing to reveal himself to be Iruka. "Because I'm Iruka," he said, grinning. Mizuki got up, smirking. "You fool," he said. "Why are you trying to protect that freak? He was the one who killed your entire family."

"I don't care what you say," Iruka said. "I won't let you get that scroll." Unknown to them, Naruto was listening to this conversation behind a tree. Mizuki laughed, "As if you can stop me. Don't you get it, Naruto's like me."

"How's that?" Iruka said, not amused.

"He wants that scroll to exact vengeance on Konoha; he'll pour all of his rage into the scroll so he can destroy the village that has caused him so much pain. That's how beasts are," Mizuki explained as if it would be obvious.

"You're right," Iruka said. "That's just how beasts are. But Naruto is not like that. He works hard to beter himself; sure he messes up a lot of the times and people jump on him because of that. And he never gives up despite when the odds are against him; that's how beasts differ from him. He is Naruto Uzumaki, a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato."

Naruto's face was now streaming with tears. "Your so pathetic, fool," Mizuki said, taking off the large shuriken on his back. "You really believe that. Well, I guess I'm just going to take your life first, Iruka. You're finished." As Mizuki was about to throw the shuriken at Iruka, he was kicked in the face by Naruto.

The chunin went sprawling back. "Not bad for a punk," he said, rubbing his chin. "But you have no chance against a chunin. I can completely destroy you and your pitiful excuse of a sensei with one move."

Naruto growled and both Iruka and Mizuki were amazed to see the blonde's eyes change from their normal blue to light purple. And it covered the sclera in each eye as well. There were also some rings around his pupil. _Is this some trick of the Kyuubi? _Mizuki thought. "Hm, seems like you're taking this seriously, Kyuubi."

Naruto made his index and middle fingers in a cross. "I'm going to take you down with my best jutsu, **Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu**." The entire clearing was covered in Naruto's shadow clones. _Those aren't illusions, _Iruka realized. _Those are real clones. Naruto learned an extremely advanced technique._ "I'll return whatever pain you can give me a thousand-fold."

As all of the Narutos jumped at Mizuki, the white-haired chunin could only yelp before he was pounded to a bloody pulp by the supposed dead-last in the Academy. About ten minutes later, Naruto's clones dispelled and the blonde emerged victorious. Naruto looked at his hands as his new eyes looked down at everything, taking in everything in great detail.

Finally, Naruto's eyes disappeared and he took a deep breath. "Hey, Iruka-sensei," he called out to the pony-tailed man. "I hope you're alright; those wounds look pretty nasty." The chunin nodded before he beckoned Naruto over, who went towards him confused.

"Naruto," Iruka said. "Close your eyes." When he did that he felt his goggles being taken off and felt something lighter on his forehead. Naruto opened his eyes to see that Iruka had put his forehead protector on Naruto's, who began to tear up. "Well, Naruto," he said. "You're at 76 percent since you know the Shadow Clone Jutsu instead of the Clone Jutsu. Basically, you just passed so now you're a genin."

"YES," Naruto said, pumping his fist in the air. "I'm a shinobi, I'm actually a shinobi." Iruka watched as the blonde danced around happily. _The road only gets harder from here, Naruto, _Iruka thought although he had faith that Naruto could now _actually _become Hokage with a lot of hard work and sweat.

"Yo, Naruto," he called. "How about we get some ramen as early breakfast? My treat." Both chuckling, they left with Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals to the Hokage's office.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, guys, what's up? Since I have free time, I can probably finish up those four chapters now so expect more from me. I also decided I would not stuff Wave into these four chapters and instead make the beginning very good. Of course, from the end of this week, I will upload chapters a lot slower so please excuse that. And please review how I can improve this fanfiction or if you like it. I decided to skip the meeting with Konohamaru since I wanna write about the important parts. Now, enough of me talking, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

**Chapter 3**: _Meeting the Kyuubi, Nagato, Sarutobi and a few more people_

After Iruka had gone with Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals to the Hokage's office, Naruto had decided to go home. It was after all around 3 or 4 in the morning so he would go and sleep now. At 10, he would need to take photographs for the new genin this year. So he had around 6-7 hours to rest after his battle. _If only Sasuke knew that I can kick chunin like Mizuki's butt, _he thought, smugly.

Another thought resurfaced in Naruto's brain. What had happened to him in the battle? His eyes had scoped in on everything and he could _see _Mizuki's chakra. That had never happened to him before! Puzzled, he quietly closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

Naruto had a weird dream; he found himself in a sewer where he was standing on some watery substance, which had a height of two feet. Then, he heard a growl emanating from one side of the sewer. _Could this be the Kyuubi? _Naruto thought, nervously. He had almost not believed it that the Kyuubi resided in his body when Mizuki had told him that.

_Darn, Yondaime, _Naruto cursed the man, who was actually his own father. _Why did you have to seal this furball inside me? You didn't even know me..._ At that, there was a large shockwave and Naruto fell backwards on the watery substance. "**Furball, huh?**" a voice rose from the darkness. "**Why don't you come a little closer and say that, puny human?**"

Naruto walked a bit into the darkness and discovered a large cage. Inside it, a beast that was almost fifty times his height stood there. Its nine tails shook with rage and Naruto stared into the glowing red eye. "S-so you're t-the K-Kyuubi?" Naruto stuttered like Hinata, a girl in his class at the Academy.

"**YES,**" the beast thundered, trying to get Naruto to piss in his pants. He loved it when humans did that. "**The puny mortal, Yondaime Hokage, sealed me inside you, brat. Now I'm stuck with you.**"

"So you'll die if I die," Naruto asked hopefully.

"**That's right, brat. But don't even go trying to harm yourself since I will just heal all of your wounds.**" The Kyuubi seemed pleased at Naruto's dismayed look. "**You didn't honestly think that the reason you heal so fast is because of you, right?**" He began to laugh, which was the same as an earthquake.

"Shut up, you big, overgrown, fox. Since you're linked to me, I'm entitled to your chakra as rent for staying here. So if I ever need it, you'll lend me your chakra!"

The Kyuubi stopped laughing and just grinned at Naruto, showing his teeth. "**You have guts, brat...fine, I'll lend you some chakra if you ask but it had better be a death situation otherwise you won't get it. Now... leave me in peace, insolent brat!**"

Everything behind the cage was immediately clouded in darkness and the demon's red eye receded into the darkness. After a few moments, Naruto heard a snore coming from behind the cage and a string of snores followed afterwards. _He fell asleep, _Naruto thought, his eyebrow twitching.

Then, a hand closed around Naruto's mouth and draped over his eyes. Whoever it was, he began dragging him away from the cage. After a while, Naruto was released and found himself in a beautiful garden. He quickly moved to make a Shadow Clone Jutsu so he could pulverize the guy but Naruto soon came face-to-face with a red-haired guy. His eyes were weird to say the least.

"Who are you?" Naruto yelled, pointing his finger at the unknown man.

"I," he smiled, "am Nagato. I'm a descendant from the Uzumaki clan, just like you."

Everything Naruto wanted to say to the guy evaporated and the blonde's eyes widened as he realized he was talking to a relative. "Oji-san," he said, the word foreign to his mouth. He had always thought that he wasn't from a clan but here it turned out that there was another Uzumaki. "Who are you?"

"I am Nagato," he simply said. "I am the first bearer of the Rinnegan after the Sage of the Six Paths. And you," he pointed at the confused Naruto, "are the second, following me. I won't say you got these eyes until you become older. Until then, I will be training you how to use these eyes properly."

"How do you know I have them?" Naruto said, regaining his atitude. "I've never seen myself with those eyes."

"Well, have you ever felt that something was different about your eyesight?" Nagato inquired, looking at Naruto expectedly. Naruto immediately thought back to his eyes in his battle against Mizuki. "Yeah, I have," Naruto said. "So that's the Rinnegan?"

"Indeed," Nagato said. "You can activate it if you wish; just push chakra into your eyes and you will get the Rinnegan."

Naruto closed his eyes and focused. He did it like how he would normally do jutsu, except focusing the internal chakra on his eyes. When he opened his eyes, Nagato stared into them. _So this is how my eyes look like? _Nagato thought, secretly mused. "Do you see anything differently?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I can see the chakra of the furbal over there. He has a lot of chakra apparently. But you, ojisan... you seem to have chakra which is running out slowly. How does that work? You're not doing any thing so you shouldn't be losing energy."

"Well," Nagato stated. "I only have a limited time with you, Naruto. Around a week I suppose before I will be forced to completely depart the world. In the meantime, I shall use this time to teach you more about the Uzumaki and the Rinnegan. It's very important that you understand the power at your disposal, young man."

"I have a few questions, actually," Naruto said, getting excited. "What exactly _is _the Rinnegan? And how is that I can use it?"

"Okay," Nagato took a deep breath. "The Rinnegan is the greatest of the Legendary Three doujutsus. So it is stronger than the Sharingan and Byakugan, which the Uchiha clan and Hyuuga clan possess. The creator of ninjutsu, the Sage of the Six Paths, had this doujutsu and he used his 'Creation of All Jutsu' technique to create all of the jutsus we have nowadays. With the Rinnegan, the Sage was able to fight and overpower the Juubi and split it into nine parts. The Kyuubi is one of these parts; the other Bijuu, as we call them, are sealed inside other people, who are treated badly just like you, Naruto."

Naruto had been listening intently, and nodded to show Nagato he understood. Smiling, Nagato carried on, "The Rinnegan allows us to see chakra, master all forms of ninjutsu, use the Six Paths and the final Outer Path. I will teach you this and when I must depart, I will give you some scrolls which will have the information."

"Okay, that's so cool," Naruto exclaimed. "I have the strongest doujutsu in the world and probably the strongest bloodline as well. With this, Sasuke-teme is nothing compared to me."

"Hold it," Nagato said. "Don't get too overconfident on your Rinnegan, Naruto. You may have the strongest doujutsu but you should also improve as a regular shinobi otherwise you will not understand your opponent and this can work against you."

"Fine," Naruto groaned. "But I have more potential than Sasuke, I'm sure?"

"Who is Sasuke?" Nagato asked, curious about this person Naruto kept mentioning.

"Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto scoffed. "He is the last living Uchiha and everyone in the village likes him because of that. He has good taijutsu, ninjutsu, and weapon skills but he isn't all that the village makes him to be. They don't even look at me since I'm the Kyuubi's jailer."

"I see," Nagato frowned. "Never forget that your Rinnegan is superior to Sasuke's Sharingan. So you shouldn't feel inferior to him and if I don't want you taking any hits from the civilians or your classmates, since I have a feeling they don't like you much. Well, then, any more questions?"

"Now, can you tell me about the Uzumaki clan?" Naruto said, as he resumed his cross-legged position, eager to know about his clan and Nagato.

"The Uzumaki clan is one of the strongest in the world, rivalled only by the Uchiha and Senju clans," Nagato said simply, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. He didn't know he belonged to such a powerful clan. "We used to have our own land, the Land of Whirlpools. But that was destroyed in war, just like so many other places, and we had to migrate to the Elemental Nations."

"So," Naruto said. "There might be other Uzumakis out there?"

"There could be," Nagato said. "But you couldn't even begin to look for them. Almost all of us are extinct aside from a few. And they are scattered around the globe. While your parents must have migrated to Konoha, my parents moved to Amegakure, the Hidden Rain Village. You see, like you, I'm also not a fan of Konohagakure since they were the ones who killed my parents in war."

"So," Naruto said slowly. "You were also an orphan?"

"Yes, Naruto," Nagato sighed. "Like you, I was an orphan. Although I knew my parents, a day didn't go by I didn't want to destroy Konoha and avenge my parents. I realized much later that vengeance does nothing to quell you and you should never adopt such thoughts, otherwise you become a different person."

Naruto only looked at Nagato, before nodding. "One final question?"

"Yes, ask me." Nagato waited.

"How is that I have the Rinnegan?" Naruto asked. He looked at Nagato, waiting for the answer.

Nagato waited for a few moments, coming up with an answer to a question he didn't know himself. "I suspect that you have to be an Uchiha, Senju, or a descendant of Mito Uzumaki to get the Rinnegan."

"Mito Uzumaki?" Naruto asked confused.

"Yes," Nagato said, thinking. "She was the wife of the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama, who was a Senju. You see, when the Sage of the Six Paths was about to die, he entrusted his strength, dream, and legacy to his two sons. The elder son inherited the Sage's 'eyes' while the younger son inherited the Sage's 'body'. The two had different theories to peace. The elder believed power was the key whilst the younger believed love was the key. These became the Uchiha and Senju clans."

"But you still haven't answered my question," Naruto said.

"Patience," Nagato said. "So, Hashirama was a Senju and his bitter rival, Madara, was an Uchiha. The two battled with their philosopies and Hashirama won. He became the Hokage of this village and married Mito Uzumaki, our ancestor. You and I are directly related to her through several generations and family members. So I think only the ones descended from Mito have the unique ability to use the Rinnegan."

Naruto seemed to buy this story since he nodded his head. It was a theory Nagato had come up with when he tried to explain how he had gotten the Rinnegan. There was no fact to it but Naruto didn't need to know that, though. "So, Naruto," he said, getting the blonde's attention. "We will begin training now!"

Naruto got up and entered the Academy taijutsu style, which Nagato noticed. _If he fights shinobi like that, they will clober him without a second thought; Rinnegan or not, _he thought to himself. Naruto charged at him and the two of them sparred. Naruto's clumsy punches and weak kicks were easy for Nagato to dodge but it took a long time before Naruto had lost a lot of his stamina.

"Easy, Naruto," Nagato ordered, stopping the one-sided match. "We need to get you to learn a new taijutsu style since that one is _really _bad." When he saw Naruto's head lower, he quickly said: "I'll teach you a style that compliments the Rinnegan and instead of kunai, it's better you use these."

Nagato took a pair of black rods. "These are chakra disruption blades," he explained. "They are extremely durable and you can channel chakra easily through meal of this type of permeability. They are designed for stabbing so that you disturb the chakra of the opponent by channeling your own chakra through it."

"Cool," Naruto reached for them, but Nagato waved his hands aside. "Don't be silly," Nagato said. "You're in your mind; these weapons won't be there in reality. That's why you need to get a lump of metal from stores; I will give you the exact measurements later. Then, using your chakra or a stronger metal, you can cut the lump in the shape you want."

When Naruto nodded, Nagato backed away from the blonde. "Let's test your ninjutsu skills, lad," Nagato said. "Use whatever jutsu you know." As soon as he had said that, Naruto made a cross with his fingers: "**Shadow Clone Jutsu**." Several clones appeared beside Naruto. _Wow, an A-rank at his age, _Nagato thought as he prepared himself.

The clones came at him but Nagato simply dodged all of them before yelling, "**Water Style: Wild Water Wave.**" Naruto's clones were immediately blown away by the tidal wave and the blonde turned in time, his Rinnegan locking in on Nagato's fighting style. _I'll just have to let the kid copy my style and then, I'll let him use some of Jiraiya-sensei's moves later._

They sparred for a few hours before Nagato stopped the match. "Your taijutsu has progressed a lot and I know you copied my water jutsu as well," the red-haired Uzumaki said, causing Naruto to look away. _At least he feels shame unlike the Uchiha, _Nagato thought back to Madara, his former master. "It's okay, Naruto. Teaching you would take too long and I have to teach you the Rinnegan later on. I'll let you copy other moves as well but for now, you need to wake up. See you later, Naruto."

"Bye, ojisan," Naruto said before he disappeared from his mindscape.

Naruto woke up, remembering everything from the sewer and the garden. _Nagato-ojisan is a really cool guy, _Naruto decided as he ate a cup of instant ramen. He was about to put on his orange jumpsuit when his hand stopped. _No, not anymore, _Naruto thought. He was the holder of the Rinnegan, Kyuubi, and an Uzumaki. He couldn't go around acting like a total idiot anymore when Naruto had that much power at his disposal. Of course, he would never become like Sasuke but it was time to become a bit more serious about his ninja career.

Transforming himself into a middle-aged man, he entered one of the shops and bought himself some clothes. They consisted of a black sweatshirt with orange sleeves and collar. There was an orange Leaf symbol on the chest of the sweatshirt. He had also bought a collar-up black jacket with rolled-up orange sleeves. The inside of the jacket was basked in orange, which Naruto liked. He bought the same type of pants; black pants with an orange waistline and ends. This way he could combine his Orange theme with some stealth as well.

He quickly went back to his apartment and undid the Transformation Jutsu. Taking off his orange jumpsuit, Naruto quickly took a shower before he put on the new clothes. After admiring his look, Naruto left to go to the Hokage's office for the photoshoot.

When he arrived at the office, everybody stopped to look at him. "You guys can get back to work," Naruto called, pleased they had begun to take him seriously. He quickly knocked on the Hokage's door and walked in after hearing the 'come in.'

The Sandaime Hokage's pipe dropped as his jaw dropped. "Naruto," he said. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing, old man," Naruto grinned. He looked a lot calmer, prepared, and stronger with his clothes on. "I just realized that I have to be more serious as a ninja and aren't you supposed to wear good clothes for a photo?"

"That's right," Sarutobi chuckled as he picked up his fallen pipe. "Now, after the photo, we also need to talk about something Iruka told me." Naruto didn't show any difference although he inwardly groaned at having to explain his Rinnegan.

"So," Sarutobi said once the photo had been taken and the photographer was done for the day. "Iruka tells me that something peculiar happened during the battle against Mizuki. You used the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu and your eyes...changed."

Naruto nodded. "That's absolutely right," the blonde nodded. "I learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals since Mizuki had lied to me that learning a jutsu would merit a pass to the Graduation Exam. The eye I have no idea how but I unlocked on that night, at that moment, against Mizuki."

"Do you think it was the Kyuubi?" Sarutobi asked, since the boy already knew. "I mean, did you feel great hatred or any other chakra overpowering your control when you did it?"

"No, old man," Naruto shook his head. "It wasn't the Kyuubi; this was something different."

"Is it possible for you to bring it out now?" Sarutobi asked, eager to see Naruto's eyes. To his delight, the blonde nodded and closed his blue eyes. When he opened them again, Sarutobi almost had a heart attack. His widened eyes stared into Naruto's Rinnegan ones. "Naruto," the old Hokage whispered. "You _do _have the Rinnegan."

Naruto snorted. "You didn't believe what Iruka told you."

"No, it's not that," the Sandaime said, recovering from his shock. "I thought that Iruka had mistook it for something else and it could have been a product of the Kyuubi, so I had to check. Now, go and Iruka will introduce your teams."

Naruto nodded and got up, reminding Sarutobi of his father, Minato. "See ya, old man." He quickly dashed out of the room, leading Sarutobi to give a chuckle. It seems Naruto's personality was mostly his mother's. He was also looking forward Kakashi's report on Naruto on the Bell Test. Sarutobi had a feeling that Naruto was well aware of his Rinnegan and had begun to learn it.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, guys, I wonder if you're as excited as me for this chapter. This is when Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke realize just how strong Naruto really is. Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 4: **_Team 7 and Bell Test_

Naruto walked into the classroom, causing many to stop and look at him. Naruto simply nodded to them and started to walk towards Sasuke. "Whoa," Kiba whistled. "Looks like you got some new clothes. Don't act cool and we're fine, bro. I guess they finally got tired of failing you so they decided to let you pass this time, huh?"

"Actually, Kiba," Naruto smiled. "I did manage to show Iruka-sensei the Clone Jutsu so he passed me at 76 percent."

"Wow," Kiba grinned. "So you were just 7 percent away from failing for the third time. Or was it your fourth, loser?"

"You've also failed a few times, smelly mutt," Naruto poked fun at Kiba, who just took the comment good-naturedly. Eventually, Naruto sat down next to Sasuke, who looked at Naruto before he gave a small laugh. "Is it the clothes?" Naruto said, putting his hands behind his head.

Sasuke nodded. "I guess you're either trying to act cool like me, which is really pointless because you're not an Uchiha, or you might be taking being a ninja more seriously."

"The next one is about right," Naruto said. "Besides I'm happy I'm not like you... sure I would be boosted but I wouldn't want to have so many fans always annoy me."

The raven-haired Uchiha simply nodded. _The dobe understands me, _thought Sasuke. What had happened to the loud-mouth that thought he could beat him. At that moment, two girls came into the classroom looking tired. "I was here before," Ino stated although Sakura thought she was, "No, it was me."

Naruto had a large crush on Sakura although he could tell that she was only looking at Sasuke. She came towards them but Naruto didn't move. Nagato-ojisan had told Naruto that he did not want the blonde hurt by any classmate and Naruto owed his dead uncle and fellow Uzumaki by doing just that. "Move, baka," Sakura moved her fist, which Naruto caught. "You're really slow," the blonde commented, which surprised probably the entire class.

"Dude," she said, looking at Naruto's new clothes. "You shouldn't try to act like Sasuke; he's way stronger than you and could beat you up. Some new clothes aren't going to change that you're the dead-last and always will be."

Naruto let go of her hand before he resumed his relaxed position. "I'm not trying to act like him," he said. "And you should go away since I don't really feel like listening to you insult me the entire day." Naruto could tell that Sakura and the rest of the girls were going to scream at him but at that moment, Iruka burst into the class.

"ALRIGHT, QUIET, BRATS!" The chunin instructor rubbed his throat. He limped over to the desk and Naruto noticed that his wounds were bandaged in a special fibre. Quickly activating his Rinnegan, Naruto saw that it was some herbs to heal the man faster. He quickly left his Rinnegan before anyone could notice.

"Okay, so today you're going to know who goes into which team," Iruka said, holding up a stack of papers. "Team 1 is..." Naruto had stopped paying attention and looking at Sasuke, who was doing the same. The two looked at each other, their stare becoming a glare, until Sasuke looked away. He put his hands in front of his mouth and assumed the 'brooding genius' look. Naruto scoffed and put his hands behind his head, relaxing.

"Team 7," Iruka said. "Naruto Uzumaki, Haruno Sakura... and Sasuke Uchiha. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake." Naruto's smile quickly became a sneer and his head lowered. Sakura cheered and she even got up. What Naruto didn't notice was that Hinata was looking at Naruto, disappointed. _Looks like I won't be in Naruto's team_, she thought.

"Team 8," Iruka said. "Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka...and Shino Aburame. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuuhi." Hinata looked at her teammates; Kiba grinned while Shino's glasses shone as light gleamed on it.

"Team 10," Iruka said. "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara...and Choji Akimitchi. Your sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi." Ino groaned as she realized she was with Shikamaru and Choji while Shikamaru just laughed. Apparently, Ino had thought she wouldn't be in his team. "Those were all of the squads," Iruka finished.

Naruto couldn't resist pointing a finger at Sasuke. "Iruka-sensei," he stated. "Why is a top student like me in a group with Sasuke?"

Iruka just looked at Naruto, unimpressed. "Naruto, Sasuke had the highest grades in the class; Rookie of the Year. You had the lowest grades in the class; the dead-last. Since we want the team to have opposite personalities and standards, we have paired you with Sasuke. SO DEAL WITH IT, BRAT!"

Naruto sat down, glaring at Sasuke while Sakura just screamed at his ear about how he shouldn't say that about Sasuke. _Ugh, such a fangirl, _the blonde thought, his crush for Sakura disappearing by the moment. Then, Team 1's sensei appeared and the team left. This followed until only Team 7 remained waiting for their sensei.

"Geez, when will he show up?" Naruto looked at the clock. Suddenly, a prank came to his mind. He quickly got up and went to the board. He got the eraser and placed it at the top of the door so that when Kakashi would open the door, the eraser would fall on his head.

"Such a stupid prank, dobe," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto unimpressed. "Our teacher is a jonin; there is no way he won't be able to see such a bad trap." Having said that, a hand appeared at the door. Kakashi opened the door and stepped in, the eraser falling on his head. Naruto began to laugh and wave at Sasuke, "You were saying, Mr. Know-it-all?"

Sakura tried to hit Naruto, who dodged again. "Baka," she said. "Sorry, sensei, I told him that she shouldn't do it but he never listens to us."

Kakashi picked up the eraser and looked at the three. "Well," he said. "My first impression of you guys is that you're a bunch of idiots. Meet me on the roof in five minutes for the introduction."

At the roof, Sakura had asked Kakashi to introduce himself first since they knew nothing about him. "Well," Kakashi said. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and hate... I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... I haven't thought about it. As far as hobbies go... I have lots of hobbies."

"Wow, we didn't get anything except his name," Sakura said to Naruto, who nodded.

"Alright, blondie," Kakashi said to Naruto. "You, first, introduce yourself."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said. "I like training, ramen at Ichiraku Ramen, and learning jutsus. But I hate the time I need to wait after pouring water into the cup, brooding avengers that think they're better since they're from a doujutsu clan, and fangirls when they start hitting me," this caused Sasuke and Sakura to look at Naruto with a heated stare, "my ultimate dream is to become Hokage so that people will validate my existence and treat me like I'm somebody."

_Hm, _Kakashi thought. _He's grown up in an interesting way. He reminds me of you, Minato-sensei._

"Alright, you next," Kakashi said, pointing to Sakura. "Hi, my name is Sakura Haruno. I like... well, the person I like is... My dream is too...[insert squeal]. I dislike Naruto and other girls that like Sasuke."

_Great, _Kakashi thought. _A fangirl. It seems girls her age are more interested in boys than ninjutsus._

"Okay, you last," Kakashi said, pointing to Sasuke. "My name," Sasuke looked up, "is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. While I don't have a dream since I _will _make it real, my ambition is to avenge my clan and to kill... a certain man."

_Just as I thought, _Kakashi thought of Itachi.

_Sasuke is soo cool! _Sakura thought, blushing heavily.

_I wonder who he's talking about? I might ask Nagato later, _Naruto thought.

"Okay, all of you are unique and have your own goals and ambitions," Kakashi said. "Tomorrow, we will have our first mission."

Naruto smiled, excited. "What kind of mission is it, sensei?"

"It's a task that the four of us will do together," Kakashi said. "A survival excercise."

"What?" Sakura said. "I thought we would have a real mission not more practice. We have already done lots of that at the Academy, which is how we got this far."

"This," Kakashi said, "is nothing like your previous training, Sakura."

"Then what kind of training is it then?" Naruto asked Kakashi, who began to laugh. "W-what's so funny?"

"Oh, it's just," Kakashi said, getting over his chuckling. "If I told you the answer, you would definitely not like it."

Since all three of them were determined, Kakashi told them. "Out of the 27 graduates, only 9 will go on to become genin. The other 18 will be sent back to the Academy for another year; so in other words there is a 66 percent failure rate." As soon as he said that, Sakura and Naruto's faces contorted in shock and Sasuke's eyebrows rose. "See," Kakashi said. "I told you you wouldn't like it."

"We worked so hard to graduate," Naruto protested vainly. "Then what was the point of the graduation test?"

"Oh that," Kakashi eye-smiled. "That was just to see if you even had a chance of becoming genin...or not. That's how it is and I decide if you pass or fail. Be at the designated training spot at 5 AM and bring your ninja gear."

As he said that, the three looked up, determined. _I'm not going to let even this failure rate stop me, _Naruto thought.

_Itachi, _Sasuke thought as his hands shook. _I will catch up to you._

_Sasuke, _Sakura thought as she stared at him. _I won't be separated from him; this is a trial of love._

"That's it," Kakashi said, getting up. "You're dismissed. Oh and one more thing, skip breakfast tomorrow otherwise you'll just end up puking."

When Naruto came home, he immediately took off his clothes and kept them nicely folded. He put on his pajamas and ate some instant ramen. Then, Naruto closed his eyes as he lay in bed, and he found himself back in his mindscape: the sewer.

Nagato was standing there and he smiled at Naruto. "Hello, my dear Naruto," he said. "Let's go to the garden shall we?" He clicked his fingers and the sewer became the beautiful garden again.

Naruto told Nagato about his new clothes, talk with the Hokage, team selection, and Kakashi's survival excercise the following day. "Kakashi Hatake," Nagato said. "That name doesn't strike any bells so he must've been after my time. But he is a jonin and you need practice to put up a match tomorrow."

"Do you know anything about his survival training tomorrow?" Naruto asked his mentor and distant uncle.

"Yes, of course," Nagato said. "The bell test is a very famous way to train new teams and my sensei went through it with me and my comrades. Your sensei will have two bells and you must defeat him in combat and take a bell. Whoever doesn't will be sent back to the Academy. This is what you'll be told tomorrow when you face him but there is actually a secret behind this."

"What secret?" Naruto asked.

"Teamwork," Nagato said as Naruto's eyes widened. "While I'm sure Kakashi will be testing your personal skills, he wants all three of you to try and attack him so he can see your ability to work together. This is very important, Naruto, as you need to get along with the pink-haired fangirl and the Uchiha. While they can drive you up the wall, you need to keep your calm and never lose your mind. And I will make you learn by tomorrow."

Nagato and Naruto activated their Rinnegan eyes and began sparring. As they sparred, Nagato began to call Naruto several names. At first, Naruto would get provoked and charge at Nagato but after being beaten to the floor so many times, the blonde realized he needed to analyze the situation.

Nagato eventually began using some of Jiraiya's moves, which he had copied with the Rinnegan when the pervert had trained him, Konan, and Yahiko. Naruto, in turn, copied the same moves so he now had a mixed taijutsu style. Nagato used a lot of elemental jutsu, most of which Naruto copied and was able to use without exhausting his chakra reserves.

"How do I use the Kyuubi?" Naruto had asked Nagato during one of their breaks.

"You can use its chakra in a life-death situation by asking it," Nagato said, which Naruto nodded its head to. "But other than that, the Kyuubi will only help if your life is in danger or you lose your temper badly. In this case, the Kyuubi will force its influence on you and you will begin to become more aggressive."

Naruto nodded, vowing that he would keep his temper in control as much as possible. They had gotten back to training and after the taijutsu part was over, Nagato began to teach Naruto some Rinnegan jutsu. If Naruto made shadow clones whilst using the Rinnegan, apparently they could share their sight although Naruto could cut it off if he wanted.

"Summoning Jutsu," Nagato yelled and summoned a chameleon. "A Rinnegan user's Animal Path enables the user to summon a variety of animals with the Rinnegan and we don't need a contract for this." Nagato taught Naruto how to summon a rhino, eagle, multiplying mutt, and a chameleon by the time the boy's chakra ran out. As he panted, Nagato smiled at Naruto. "You've done, well, Naruto. I still have another 6 paths to teach you to control but it is impressive you made so much progress with one in only one night. Now get up since you need to show your skills. And make sure you eat breakfast."

Naruto woke up and ran a hand through his hair. Looking down, he saw that his muscles were larger from the training and he had a much better amount of jutsu. He could now also summon four different creatures with the Animal Path and that was better than Sasuke's puny Sharingan, which he hadn't even unlocked.

He quickly took a shower and put on his new clothes, bought yesterday. Then, he quickly had some breakfast before heading out. A few minutes later, Naruto appeared in the clearing where Sakura and Sasuke were. "Sorry," both Kakashi and Naruto said. "I got lost on the road of life," Kakashi explained. "What about you, Naruto?"

"I had to help an old lady with her groceries... she lives on the other side of the village," Naruto said, which led Kakashi to chuckle. "Anyways," he said looking at the fuming Sakura and apathetic Sasuke. "Your task is to get these bells from me by any means. Come at me with intent to kill."

"Wait, sensei," Sakura said. "There are only two bells."

"Exactly," Kakashi put a watch, set for noon. "Whoever doesn't manage to get the bell or puts the least effort will end up tied to the stump and will watch us eat lunch. Then, that person will be put back in the Academy for another year. Now, let's begin. Ready, Start!"

Sasuke and Sakura immediately left the clearing, hidden in the woods. Naruto remained firmly where he was. "You're a bit weird, aren't you?" Kakashi said. "Shinobi must learn to disguise themselves; deception is a very important tool."

"The only thing weird is your haircuit," Naruto responded. "What would be the point of hiding when I know you being a jonin can easily detect me? I know you know where Sasuke and Sakura are hiding."

"Well then me being a jonin I could easily defeat you in a battle fair-and-square? In that case, facing me and hiding are both futile; would you simply not try at all, then?"

"Of course not," Naruto scoffed. "I need to test my own abilities and yours as well, sensei. Then I can go back to them and convince us to work as a team to take you down, which is what you want to see, isn't it?"

Kakashi's eye widened. _This kid... He figured out the bell test this soon. _"I'll make sure," Naruto said, smiling. "You won't be able to read that book when we start fighting!" Having said that, Naruto bent low and settled into the stance he had copied off Nagato. Kakashi looked at him, waiting for his move, when Naruto disappeared from sight.

Quickly turning, Kakashi blocked Naruto's kick although it sent his book flying away. _Such speed from the dead-last, _Kakashi thought. That's when Naruto flipped to deliver a roundhouse kick, which sent Kakashi flying backwards. "I guess you aren't all talk, Naruto," the white-haired jonin straightened. "But this is nowhere enough in order to take me down. Remember I said that you need to come at me with killing intent?"

Naruto smirked before disappearing again from sight. Kakashi turned just in time to block Naruto's punch, grabbing the blonde's fist. Naruto did a turn in midair and slammed his head against Kakashi's, giving the jonin a massive headache. That moment his grip weakened, Naruto broke free before he backed away from Kakashi. "**Water Style: Wild Water Wave**," Naruto yelled, releasing a breath of water at Kakashi. _This kid knows a C-rank water jutsu, _Kakashi thought, shocked.

The clearing was instantly drenched in water, but Kakashi appeared out of the side of the blast, looking unharmed. He looked up to see that Naruto had disappeared. "Behind you," a voice whispered. On instinct, Kakashi turned and then Naruto swung his legs around the jonin's head. Then, he quickly launched himself into the sky and used his legs to catapult Kakashi, sending him flying towards the river.

In a swirl of leaves, Kakashi vanished and appeared behind Naruto. Punching the blonde, the cyclops was surprised to see his fist had been caught by Naruto, whose eyes now had the Rinnegan in them. Kakashi's eye widened and did not make it in time. Naruto's feet crashed into Kakashi's chest, sending the jonin moving backwards but Naruto grabbed his vest and slammed his head into the man's chin.

Naruto made sure he took a bell before deactivating his Rinnegan. "You underestimated me, sensei," Naruto said. "You should have used all of your techniques but you pegged me at low-genin level. And I wasn't even using all of my jutsu?"

Kakashi got up slowly and rubbed his head. "H-how did you get behind my guard? W-who taught you those moves?" Naruto simply smiled and said, "I have my secrets, sensei, and you have yours. Now, I need to go see my teammates so I can give them this bell."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "Too late," he pointed to the floor. "You shouldn't have underestimated me, Naruto. Now it looks like your in some trouble." Naruto looked down to see his feet having sunk in some mud and it was pulling him down. _Quicksand, _his eyes widened. "Well, see you later, Naruto," Kakashi said and he took his bell from Naruto before leaving the scene.

Sasuke had watched the fight with growing surprise and jealously. How had the dead-last gotten so strong? He was nearly fighting evenly against a jonin and while Kakashi had not used a lot of jutsu, Naruto had said he hadn't either. _I need to get him to tell me how he did all that, _Sasuke decided. And Naruto's eyes had changed for a moment when he fought Kakashi... it almost looked like a doujutsu but that didn't make any sense. There were only two doujutsus; Sharingan and Byakugan. Besides, Naruto wasn't even from a shinobi clan.

Then, when the tides had turned in Kakashi's favor, Sasuke immediately fled from the scene. He couldn't get caught now or he would fail this test. He had to show Kakashi that he, not Naruto, was the strongest of the group.

Sakura watched the fight in amazement. _I-Is that Naruto? _She couldn't believe that the annoying dead-last was fighting on equal terms against Kakashi and was even beating him! How had Naruto gotten this strong? Less than a week ago, she could have said that Sasuke was vastly superior to Naruto and could beat him with hands tied behind his back. Now, it seemed like Naruto might just do that...

Behind her, a voice whispered. "Sakura," it said. "Behind you." She turned to come face-to-face with Kakashi who executed his genjutsu. It was a low-rank genjutsu but Sakura passed out when she saw a wounded Sasuke crying for help.

"Now," Kakashi got up. "I need to look for the last legendary Uchiha. Rookie of the Year. If he does better than Naruto, I'm going to take Naruto and him as apprentices. Sorry, Sakura."

Meanwhile, Naruto tried to come up with a way he could get rid of this situation. Although it was probably a bad idea, Naruto made a handsign. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto yelled. Immediately, the swamp was filled with Narutos. Since this jutsu distributed chakra evenly, the swamp evened out to envelop all of the clones as well. Due to this, Naruto simply had to release a burst of chaka to free himself from the quicksand. _Aw, come on, _Naruto thought. _These were new clothes!_

Kakashi had caught up with Sasuke. "Just so you know," the Uchiha smirked. "I'm nothing like Naruto and Sakura. I'm completely different from them." He threw a kunai , which initiated a trap. Kakashi simply dodged the large boulder which came to him. He turned to see that Sasuke was onto him. He quickly blocked although Sasuke touched one of the bells.

When he was off him, Sasuke made a series of hand-seals. "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu,**" he yelled and let out a large breath of fire, which took the shape of a fireball. Kakashi's eye widened. _He also knows a C-rank elemental jutsu? _Kakashi thought since Naruto had also used such an attack.

When the smoke cleared, Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Sasuke looked around but didn't catch Kakashi anywhere. Then, two hands shot out of the ground and gripped his ankle. "**Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu,**" Kakashi yelled as he pulled Sasuke underground to the neck. "You're right," Kakashi prompted. "You are different; but that doesn't mean better. Oh and you're definitely not better than Naruto; he made more progress than you."

He left after that, leaving Sasuke in anger. Kakashi thought that Naruto was stronger than him. Impossible. _I am an Uchiha Elite, _he thought. _A no-named idiot doesn't come close to me._ Meanwhile, Naruto had already woken up Sakura and explained the secret behind the Bell Test. Together, they got Sasuke out of the ground and discussed what they could do.

"I have an idea," Naruto said. "Sasuke, you know some fire techniques right?" The Uchiha nodded slowly. "I know some wind techniques," Naruto said. "If me and Sasuke can combine moves, Kakashi will be caught unawares. Sakura you could serve as the initiator since I think Sasuke has set some traps there, which Kakashi has not taken off yet."

"I don't need your help, dobe," Sasuke said. "As I said, I touched one of the bells back there. Next time, I can get the bell and then be free of your useless butts here."

Naruto's eyebrow ticked. "You touched the bell since Kakashi didn't expect you. You had the element of surprise and don't call me useless because I at least managed to put up more of challenge than you. You haven't even awakened your doujutsu yet while I've unlocked my superior one."

"Bull," Sasuke laughed. "You also had the element of surprise so you just got lucky against him. And there is no doujutsu greater than the Sharingan, you dobe. And you're not even from a clan so you're just spouting total nonsense here."

"I'm from the Uzumaki clan," Naruto said. "They went extinct a while ago but I'm one of the sole survivors along with a few others, who are scattered around the globe. Our specialty is sealing and Konoha's best barriers and seals were made by us. And yes, I do have a doujutsu, Sasuke, it's called the Rinnegan."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You have the doujutsu of the Sage of the Six Paths? That's not possible. You're lying."

Naruto snorted. "Whatever," he said. "Now, I need you to cooperate so we can beat Kakashi-sensei and become ninjas instead of passing exams all our life." The Uchiha scowled but nodded.

Kakashi had been reading his book when shuriken were launched at him. _So they're here, _he thought before moving backwards. Sakura emerged from the tree and threw a kunai to the side. It hit a rope, causing two large boulders to drop towards Kakashi, who rolled out of the way. That's when Naruto and Sasuke tag-teamed the one-eyed jonin.

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu,**" Sasuke yelled and blew a large fireball at Kakashi.

"**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough,**" Naruto yelled and a directed a large gust of wind at Sasuke's fireball.

The fireball scattered and caught on the wind, so a gust of fire swept at Kakashi. The jonin dodged but had a horrible burn to his arm. Naruto came at Kakashi and punched the jonin, who sidestepped... causing him to receive Sasuke's uppercut. _He was hiding in Naruto's shadows, _Kakashi thought as he went flying. Naruto had managed to grab a bell and so did Sasuke.

Kakashi got up and smiled. "I am incredibly impressed in you lot. Naruto, you know two C-rank jutsus of two different elements and your taijutsu is off the chart. I can say that your Rinnegan enhances your taijutsu and there are some techniques you haven't shown me. Sasuke, your taijutsu is also quite good and you know a C-rank jutsu which requires a lot of chakra. Sakura, your precision and accuracy with the kunai and shuriken are quite good. You pass. Tomorrow we will begin our first mission. Be there at 7 AM."

Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto was going to leave when Sasuke intercepted his path. "How did you unlock the Rinnegan? Teach me all of your abilities." The Uchiha had his arms crossed. Naruto only sighed and said, "I would never teach you my abilities. Besides, didn't you say that Uchiha didn't need help from no-name clanned kids like me?"

Sasuke scowled. "You're right. Don't hold me back, dobe." He then left with Sakura trying to ask a date. Naruto just shook his head before he too set up on the path back home, not feeling exhausted in the least. Perhaps he would go to Ichiraku Ramen since he had some time.


	5. Chapter 5

Well, the Wave mission is in this chapter. Naruto will definitely not get poisoned or called a scaredy cat by Sasuke! We'll also see some bonding between these guys... let's not talk about Sakura, shall we? :) Well, anyways, enjoy!

**Chapter 5: **_Tazuna and the Land of Waves_

Sasuke punched the stuffed training dummy. He couldn't believe how strong Naruto had gotten. A few hours ago, the dead-last had been fighting evenly with their jonin sensei, Kakashi Hatake. And he knew _two _C-rank jutsu while Sasuke only knew one. _I'm an Uchiha, _Sasuke thought. _There is no way I'll let that idiot be stronger than me._

He continued punching and kicking the training dummies for another hour before he became too tired to move. As Sasuke slumped to the floor, he heard a familiar annoying voice call to him. "Teme," Naruto smirked. "You'll never reach my level like this."

"Go away, you ramen-eating dobe," Sasuke yelled. "How did you get past the ANBU covering this district?"

"Easy," Naruto said. "It's called the Transformation Jutsu; I simply transformed into a fly and they didn't see me enter the district. I must say, for ANBU, some of them were sleeping on the job."

"What do you want with me?" Sasuke asked. "Here to gloat that you have awakened your doujutsu while I haven't?"

"No," Naruto said. "I'm here to help you awaken your Sharingan, teme."

Sasuke laughed. "How are you going to do that? You think I haven't spent the last four years trying myself?"

"There's a specific way to unlock a doujutsu," Naruto said. "You can't activate it through just training; you need to be put under pressure and then you will get it."

Sasuke just shook his head. "If that's true then this is still pointless," he said. "There's no way a dead-last like you, even with the Rinnegan, can pressure me. You-" Naruto's fist slammed into Sasuke's gut without any warning. _So fast, _Sasuke thought. He quickly tried to kick Naruto but the blonde simply dodged out of the way before slamming his elbow into Sasuke's head.

The Uchiha backed away. "So you've improved quite a lot," Sasuke praised. "Maybe this will be worthwhile." Having said that, he quickly charged at Naruto, who simply sidestepped Sasuke's punch. Sasuke followed up with a roundhouse kick but Naruto just jumped over it. "Try harder," Naruto suggested, smiling gleefully. Sasuke's anger began to show and he began to punch frantically at Naruto.

_So this is how Nagato must have felt in our taijutsu match, _Naruto realized. He would have to just show Sasuke that his anger wouldn't change a single thing. He quickly dodged another one of Sasuke's punches before swiftly kicking the boy's legs under him, sending the rookie sprawling to the floor. "Getting angry won't do anything," Naruto said. "You just lose focus; now get up and come at me with full force or is this the best you Uchiha can do."

Sasuke got up, rubbed his chin, and settled in the Uchiha Interceptor Style. Naruto smiled, "That's more like it." He settled down into the style Nagato taught him. Then, the two charged at each other. Like before, Naruto smacked the heck out of Sasuke but the boy kept a calm head and tried to analyse Naruto's moves. While Naruto didn't get any slower, Sasuke had become accustomed to Naruto's fighting style and was able to dodge some of the boy's moves. Of course, Naruto was familiar to the Uchiha Interceptor Style now so their match was still the same.

It wasn't until they had been fighting for three hours, that something peculiar happened. Sasuke was bruised and battered while Naruto didn't have anything on him. Then, the next round, Sasuke began to dodge some of Naruto's moves and the fight began to become even. "What's wrong, teme?" Naruto disappeared from sight. "Am I too fast for the mighty Uchiha?"

Still, Sasuke had learned not to lose his cool. He simply surveyed the training ground and caught a blur of black and orange. He turned...and blocked Naruto's kick. "I can see you, Naruto," Sasuke grinned, his Sharingan flaring. Naruto also smiled, glad that their spar paid off. "Looks like you finally awakened it," the blonde said, stopping the match.

"You better not copy any of my moves, teme," Naruto warned, his Rinnegan showing for a moment.

"Same to you, dobe," Sasuke replied, turning off his Sharingan.

"Your Sharingan is only at one tomoe," Naruto said. "Do you want to train a bit more so you can get another tomoe?"

"I'm too tired to go," Sasuke said. "Maybe after we come back from the misson, tomorrow."

"Well, alright, see ya," Naruto said, turning his back. He jumped to the roof of the Uchiha compound and was about to do the Transformation Jutsu when Sasuke called back. "Naruto," Sasuke said, hesitantly. Naruto looked back and saw Sasuke smiling at him. "Thanks, man." The blonde just smiled before transforming into a wasp. He sped out of the district, heading home to get some sleep (training with Nagato).

In his sleep, Naruto told Nagato all about the bell test and how he had gotten a bell from Kakashi. "You made the mistake of underestimating him Naruto," Nagato lectured. "Your element of surprise won't help for the entire fight, you know. Kakashi got over it after the first blows you exchanged."

"Hai, hai," Naruto grumbled. "I got that; what are we going to learn today."

"Well," Nagato said, motioning for Naruto to sit. "You know how to use the Animal Path quite nicely. You still need to practice the Summoning Jutsu. You also know jutsu from water, wind, and earth. You can learn fire and lightning later from Sasuke or your sensei. I will teach you to use some other paths; the Preta and Human Path. First, the Human Path allows you to pull out the soul of any person and you can read their mind to find out what information they have. This is called the Absorption Soul Jutsu. The Preta Path allows you to absorb ninjutsu to a limit; if you absorb more ninjutsu than you can handle, then you will blow up."

Naruto's face still looked quite impressed. "How much do you think I can handle?"

Nagato had a thoughtful look. "At your development of the Rinnegan, you can probably absorb two B-rank ninjutsus. Since you're an Uzumaki, this technique should be easier for you as it is fuuinjutsu; this technique is called the Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal. It cast as a barrier around which, which allows only pure chakra to enter through the shield."

"Sweet," Naruto said. "Is this another reason why Uzumaki people can awaken the Rinnegan? Since some of the techniques are fuuinjutsu?"

"That's possible," Nagato said. "I've actually never thought about that. Anyways, I'm going to shoot ninjutsu at you and you're gonna absorb them. Alright?"

Naruto nodded and Nagato yelled, "**Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave.**" The large waves of water shot at Naruto slowly, giving him time to activate the jutsu. Naruto immediately activated his Rinnegan and brought his hands forward. He pushed chakra and focused it into a barrier. Immediately, the waves collided against Naruto's barrier. Naruto found the direction of the chakra and made it so it went the opposite way, thus negating the jutsu. The barrier absorbed the waves and Naruto felt his chakra return.

"See," Nagato said. "Handy trick, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded. "It also gives you back chakra so you're never tired. Can you show me the other soul absorbing technique?"

"Absorption Soul Jutsu," Nagato corrected. He made a shadow clone and put his hand on the clone's head. Nagato then pulled out a white chakra-like wisp from his clone before he put it back in the clone. Turning to Naruto, he said, "That was the Absorption Soul Jutsu. You should use it if you have some information; this jutsu you can practice with your clones."

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto said, making a clone. He turned to it and put his hand on the unruly mop of blonde hair. Concentrating, he began to pull out the blue soul but immediately lost his concentration before he could take the entire soul out. The clone got up, bowed, and dispelled itself. "I guess I need some more practice with it," Naruto said.

"You can already use the Animal, Preta, and Human Paths," Nagato said. "You're better than I was practicing my Rinnegan."

"How long do we have before you go?" Naruto asked.

"Another five days or so," Nagato answered. He had gotten close to the blonde-haired kid. He reminded Nagato of himself when he was training under Jiraiya-sensei. But Nagato had died already; Minato had already been kind enough to allow Nagato to spend time with his only son. "Now, you must wake up and use my techniques wisely."

Naruto woke up to see it was half past seven. He had half an hour before Kakashi would show up at the bridge to take them to their mission. That gave Naruto some time to go to the store to buy some more clothes since his only set had gotten wet due to the Bell Test. Putting on his old jumpsuit, Naruto did the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself.

He got another five sets of the same clothes he got yesterday and came back home with them quickly. Naruto took a quick shower, put on a set of the clothes, and dashed off to the training ground. When he got there, he saw that Sakura and Sasuke were there on time again. _You idiots, _Naruto thought. It seems they would never understand that Kakashi would always come around three hours later.

"Hello, guys," Kakashi said. "A black cat crossed all of the roads so I had to take the really long way." Ignoring Sasue's ticked look, Sakura's fuming look, and Naruto's smile, Kakashi simply told them to follow him to their first mission as Team 7.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"OrangeHokage, at Point A," Naruto said.

"UchihaAvenger, at Point B," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke'sFutureWife, at Point C," Sakura said, blushing heavily. This caused Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi to sweat-drop anime-style at the red fangirl. _Man, she has it really bad, _Naruto realized.

"All clear," Kakashi prompted. "GO FOR IT!"

The three of them sprang out of the bushes at the shadowy animal. Thanks to his superior speed, Naruto managed to easily catch the surprised cat, who began to claw his face. _So fast! Nice, Naruto, _Kakashi admired the blonde-haired Rinnegan user. "SOMEONE GET THIS CAT OFF ME," Naruto yelled as Tora kept trying to scratch his face.

Naruto quickly activated his Rinnegan to spot the cat's pressure point. He pressed lightly there which caused the cat to stop flailing. Letting out a breath, he turned off his Rinnegan and joined his team as they left to submit Tora at the Hokage's office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Give us a better mission, old man," Naruto said, pointing to the Sandaime when the cat and her owner left the office. "I'm tired of these stupid missions; we're ninja so we can handle whatever you give us."

"Why you little brat," Iruka stood up. "You will address Hokage-sama with respect. Besides, you're just a genin fresh out of the Academy so you're going to be doing D-ranks for a while."

"Naruto," Sarutobi said, patiently. "Just like how shinobi are divided by their skill and experience; missions are also divided by their level. Newly-appointed genin like yourself are only given D-ranks; when they become more experienced, you will be given C-ranks. Chunin are given B-rank missions while Jonin go on A-rank missions."

When he stopped, he realized Naruto was talking to his team about some ramen. "SILENCE," Sarutobi thundered, shocking the team. Naruto just glared at the old man, "Gah, you always treat me like that little kid I was. Well, I've got news for you, old man, I'm a shinobi now not that stupid kid that used to pull pranks all the time."

There was a small silence before Sarutobi began laughing. "Iruka," he smiled. "Naruto wants us to know he's not the prankster anymore, he's a ninja now. Well, alright; I'm going to assign you a C-rank mission. You're going to be bodyguards."

"Cool!" Naruto said. "Who are we guarding; a daimyo, princess...?"

"Send him in, Mai," he said to his assistant. A drunk old man entered the room, glaring at the three. "His name is Tazuna," Sarutobi said. Tazuna looked up at the three and snorted. "These three," he said. "They look completely useless; especially the one with the whiskers."

A vein popped in Naruto's head. "Look at yourself, old man," Naruto yelled. "You don't look like you're worth guarding!" Kakashi quikly restrained Naruto before he could attack the old man. "Naruto, we're supposed to guard him not attack him," he chided.

Tazuna just smirked before leaving the room. "He's from the Land of Waves," Iruka said. "In his request, he has asked for standard protection against robbers and bandits on his way. A bit strange as he got here perfectly but that's the mission..."

Kakashi nodded. "Alright, you three," he said, looking at Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. "Get ready and meet me in a hour at the gates."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, they were all ready to go. Kakashi was explaining to Sakura and Sasuke about the Elemental Nations but Naruto was busy looking for any funny business. He didn't see anything out of order for half an hour before something happened. They were all walking normally when Naruto noticed a puddle. _It hasn't rained for days, _Naruto noticed. He summoned his Rinnegan and looked at the puddle; he saw two ninjas hiding in the puddle.

Looking at Kakashi, Naruto realized that the jonin had also reached that conclusion. _We should play their little game, _Naruto thought. As they passed the puddle, Naruto could hear the two ninjas quietly moving out of the puddle before they dashed at Kakashi, chains encircling his body. In a flash, the jonin was torn to pieces.

"One down, three to go," they rasped. But before they could move, Naruto and Sasuke had slammed their feet into the ninjas' faces, sending them plummeting back. Sasuke quickly jumped and landed on one of the ninjas' gauntlet. The Uchiha slammed a kunai into the mechanism, breaking it. "You runt," he yelled, swinging at Sasuke who simply dodged and punched the ninja in the gut, later following up with an uppercut.

Naruto dodged his opponent's claws and threw a shuriken at the ninja, who simply caught it. At that moment, Naruto disappeared from sight before he slammed his knee into the ninja's back, making him go sprawling to the floor. Turning, Naruto followed up with a roundhouse kick, which broke the ninja's face mask.

Shaking the dusts of their clothes, Naruto and Sasuke just high-fived each other. Kakashi came out from behind a tree and smiled at them. Sakura was extremely shocked, "Sensei, you're alright." Kakashi nodded before saying, "Naruto and Sasuke, excellent fighting there. You both took down chunin-level opponents with ease. Sakura, you protected the client, good job as well."

Then, the one-eyed jonin gathered up the unconscious ninja. "These are Kirigakure's Demon Brothers; two fearsome chunin, who have poison in their claws. Mr. Tazuna, care to explain why you have _ninja _after you when you simply asked for protection against robbers and bandits?" Kakashi looked hardly at Tazuna.

Tazuna just looked at Kakashi, stammering. "W-well, I-I uh, it was."

"If we had known there were shinobi of chunin-level following you, then this would be a B-rank, possibly even A-rank mission," Kakashi said. "In that case, we would need a team of chunin or jonin to guide you to the Land of Waves. We are now way outside of mission parameters."

"NO WAY," Naruto yelled. "There is no way we're just going to abandon this guy when he seriously needs our help. I know he's really rude but I will definitely not stand by if there are people who need our help. That's the point of becoming shinobi: to help those in greater need than us."

"I agree," Sasuke said, surprising everyone. "This is also an oppurtunity to test our skills, which we would not be able to do performing D-rank missions. The only way we can get stronger is if we continue to do these kinds of missions. Don't worry, me and Naruto can handle anything."

Sakura, Kakashi, and Tazuna were surprised. _So I guess we'll continue, _Sakura thought. _These boys are becoming good friends, _Kakashi realized. _I think Naruto's doujutsu had something to do with this change in Sasuke._

_Wow, I seriously underestimated these kids, _Tazuna thought. _They defeated the ninja and are now sticking up for me. I should apologize to the blondie for insulting him earlier._

"Well," Kakashi said. "Since all of you are so eager to continue with this mission, I guess we will see off Tazuna until the end. But you need to be extra careful and Naruto, I want you and Sasuke to be on alert the entire time." Naruto nodded and activated his Rinnegan, causing Sasuke to activate his recently-awakened Sharingan. _So Sasuke's activated his Sharingan, _Kakashi realized. _But it's only at the first stage._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at Konoha, the council was waiting patiently for the Hokage to arrive. Koharu, Homura, Danzou, the clan heads, and the civilian part of the council had all received letters from Sarutobi, summoning them to the following council. After another minute, Sarutobi entered the council flanked by three ANBU guards. They stopped at the door while Sarutobi took the main seat.

"I have summoned all of you to discuss about Naruto Uzumaki," Sarutobi said. This caused a large murmur across the council. "Is this about the Kyuubi?" Koharu asked, looking at Sarutobi. To her and the rest of the council's surprise, the Sandaime shook his head.

"After the entire fiasco with Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals," the elderly Hokage said, "Naruto has awakened the Rinnegan and is using it with increasing progress." The entire shinobi part of the council began to talk among themselves while the civilian part was confused.

"What is the Rinnegan?" one of the civilians asked.

"The Rinnegan," Shikaku began. "It is one of the Three Eye Techniques, along with the Sharingan and Byakugan. It was believed to be legend but as Hokage-sama has said, Naruto has awakened it. Only the Sage of the Six Paths, the creator of ninjutsu and humans, was stated to have this doujutsu."

"WHAT?" another civilian said. "Surely it can't be as strong as the Sharingan and the Byakugan. I'm sure that Sasuke and the Hyuugas are still-"

"The Rinnegan is stronger than them," Inoichi interrupted. "The power of the Samsara Eye is so great that the Sharingan and Byakugan pale in comparison to it. With it, the Sage of the Six Paths was said to be on par with the Juubi, a creature which was said to be the combination of all of the Bijuu."

"You mean the combination of demons like Naruto?" another civilian asked. The Sandaime released a burst of killing intent at the unfortunate civilian, who gulped and sat back down. "Please," Sarutobi said. "Do _not _refer to Naruto as a demon."

"Since Naruto has the Rinnegan _and _Kyuubi," Danzou said. "I must ask that he is given to me so I can draw out his full potential and make him so he can aid us in war."

"You want to turn Naruto into a weapon?" Sarutobi asked, his anger ebbing out of the sentence. Danzou nodded to this, sending the old Hokage into a frenzy.

"Danzou, you will never get your hands on the Rinnegan or Kyuubi so give it up," Sarutobi said. "Naruto Uzumaki is fine as he is right now."

"So you're saying," Koharu rose, "that we should leave all this power at the hands of a mere boy. With the Rinnegan, he's even more valuable than Sasuke Uchiha. You cannot deny us the right to use this doujutsu to take our place as the strongest village."

"Naruto will be allowed to progress at the same rate as Sasuke," Sarutobi explained. "While I agree the Rinnegan is more useful than the Sharingan, the Kyuubi all of you fear will never let you use Naruto so thus, I say it is futile."

_That cunning Hiruzen, _Danzou thought. He was manipulating everyone's opinion on Naruto to make sure they did not get their hands on the Rinnegan. But he would find a way to use Naruto _and _the Uchiha at the same time. _Once the civilian part and the shinobi part see how much stronger I've made Konoha, I will even become Hokage. _After discussing some other matters, they were dismissed by Sarutobi, who had caught the glint in Danzou's eye.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We are almost at the Land of Waves," the boatsman said. They had been on the water for the past hour and due to the heavy mist, they had not been able to see anything. Well Sakura, Kakashi, and Tazuna hadn't. Naruto's Rinnegan allowed him to see everything quite clearly and Sasuke could also to a lesser degree. The two boys sat at the front, discussing their doujutsus.

"Kakashi-sensei, what exactly does Naruto have?" Sakura asked Kakashi. The one-eyed jonin took a moment to think before answering her, "The Rinnegan, as I'm sure you've heard. It is an unique doujutsu that can be awakened by people of the Uzumaki, Senju, and Uchiha clans. I'm not sure myself about the origin of this doujutsu but it's said that with it, the Sage of the Six Paths invented ninjutsu. It is stronger than the other eye techniques."

"Is Naruto is stronger than Sasuke, now?" Sakura asked, not able to believe herself. Kakashi gave a nod. "Naruto is actually a bit ahead of Sasuke but I know that Sasuke can probably catch up if he gets the correct motivation. Now, Tazuna, before we reach the pier, I need to ask you something. The men who are after you; I need to know why."

Tazuna nodded. "The one who is after my life is a very short man. When he walks, he casts a deathly long shadow. He's caused great suffering and unrest in the Land of Waves. I'm sure you've heard of him; he's one of the wealthiest men in the world. The shipping magnate, Gatou."

Kakashi's eye widened. "Gatou? You mean Gatou of Gatou Industries? He's a business leader; everyone knows about him."

Tazuna nodded again. "What, who?" Naruto asked. "Gatou," Tazuna said. "He is a very powerful tycoon of Gatou Industries. He gained all of his power by selling drugs and utilizing many shinobi gangs, composed of missing nuke-nin. A year ago, he set his sights on the Land of Waves. He used his great wealth to take complete control over our shipping industry. And all who tried to stand in his way disappeared, died, or were taken by Gatou.

"In an island nation, whoever control the sea controls the island as well; finance and its economy. But he fears one thing; the building of the bridge. By building this bridge, we will be connected to the mainland and his control over the Land of Waves will be broken. And I am the master bridge-builder."

"So you're standing in Gatou's way?" Sakura deduced. "Those ninja that were after you in the forest were hired by Gatou to take you down." Tazuna nodded again, looking glum.

"You're a very brave man, Tazuna," Naruto said, smiling at Tazuna. "You're giving your people a lot of hope by building this bridge and this gangster, Gatou, wants to keep the land in the darkness forever. Don't worry, we will make sure that you can build the bridge so your land will be free again."

Tazuna was touched by the blonde's words. "Naruto, was it?" Naruto nodded. "I wanted to apologize for insulting you back there. I did not think that you would be so much more than a kid. Please forgive me."

Naruto shook his head. "I also overreacted. I didn't know the position of the Land of Waves before so I'm also sorry that I lost my temper. Hey, we've almost reached the pier!" They turned to see that they had almost reached the jetty.

After the ride, they had to walk through another forest. Sasuke and Naruto had their doujutsus activated and Kakashi kept his ears open. Only, Sakura and Tazuna walked with little reassurance and urgent steps. Hearing a rustle in the bushes, Sasuke shot a kunai there. Walking over there, he sighed when he had almost killed a rabbit. "Sasuke," Sakura said. "You scared the poor thing!"

Naruto looked at Kakashi, who nodded. _So he realized, _Kakashi thought. _Why is the fur of the rabbit white when it's not winter? It must have been kept indoors only for a Replacement Jutsu. _Turning his head, his eye narrowed. _So they're already here, huh?_ "Look out," Naruto yelled, as his Rinnegan caught a fast movement towards them. All of them fell to the ground as a sword sailed above their heads and into a tree.

On the hilt, a ninja appeared. He wore white cargo pants and a light-brown muscle shirt. He had a blue cloth around his neck. His mouth was covered in bandages. "Well, well," Kakashi said. "If it isn't Zabuza Momochi, missing-nin of Kirigakure." Kakashi placed his left hand on his forehead protector, which was covering his left eye.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan," Zabuza chuckled. "Did I get that right?" Sasuke and Naruto gasped as they looked at their sensei. "Too bad, but you have to hand over the old man there," Zabuza said, looking at Kakashi. The mysterious jonin simply called out his team, "Quick, you three; manji formation. I've taught you teamwork; now it's time to use it."

Having said that, Kakashi raised his forehead protector and opened his eye to reveal a fully-matured Sharingan. _Wow, he has a full Sharingan, _both Naruto and Sasuke thought. "Looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action," Zabuza said. "This is an honour!"

"Everyone keeps saying 'Sharingan'," Sakura said, confused. "What is the Sharingan?" Tazuna nodded to show he also wanted to know. "The Sharingan," Sasuke said. "It's a doujutsu which can instantly comprehend any taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu. It can also instantly reflect back the technique on the user. The Sharingan is one of The Three Doujutsu along with the Rinnegan and the Byakugan. But that's just the surface; there's a lot more it can do."

"You got that right, kid," Zabuza said. "The Sharingan can also analyze the opponent's technique and replicate it to the smallest detail. As for you, jonin, we had an order back in Kirigakure to destroy you on sight; it said on your profile that you have copied over a thousand jutsu, Kakashi the Copycat Ninja." While he talked the mist around the forest began to thicken considerably. Meanwhile, all of the other four were surprised that Kakashi was such a famous ninja.

_But how? _Sasuke thought. _The Sharingan is a doujutsu that some members of the Uchiha clan awaken. He's not an Uchiha from his last name... so how can he... _Zabuza had decided that they had talked enough and got ready. In an instant, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura assumed the manji position around Tazuna. Naruto and Sasuke decided that they would show their doujutsu later so they could have the element of surprise.

"So, I have to take you down first, Kakashi?" Zabuza retreated to the water, standing on it. In a specfic pose, he built up a lot of chakra. "Hiding in Mist Jutsu," he said as he disappeared. Kakashi straightened before saying to his students, "He'll come after me first."

"Just who is this guy?" Sakura asked him.

"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi stated. "He is master of the Silent Killing. As the name suggests, he can eliminate a foe without them detecting him. His stealth techniques are even better than my own and I made a name for them when I was in ANBU."

As Zabuza's jutsu took effect, the mist around them got thicker. "Since the Sharingan can't neutralize it," Kakashi said. "Stay on your guard." Naruto understood that Kakashi didn't mention his Rinnegan to keep the element of surprise. He looked to see that Sasuke was completely serious. _Good, he doesn't rely on his Sharingan, _Naruto thought.

"Eight choices," Zabuza's voice rang out of the mist. "Legs, spine, lungs, liver, jagular, subclavian artery, kidneys, and heart... Now... which will be my killing point?" The three genin shivered as they felt Zabuza's killing intent. Naruto and Sasuke quickly lowered their eyes and brought out their respective doujutsus. In a second, they felt the killing intent subside and the boys deactivated them quickly.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Relax; I won't allow my comrades to die. Trust me!" He eye-smiled and Sakura also felt the killing intent subside. Then, in an instant, Zabuza appeared where between the genin and Tazuna. His Sharingan flaring, Kakashi quickly moved and managed to stab Zabuza before the deadly jonin could swing his sword.

Out of Zabuza's puncture wound, water dripped out. _A water clone, _Kakashi realized. Behind him, Zabuza appeared and swung his sword. "Sensei, behind you!" Naruto yelled. As Kakashi turned, he was cleaved in half before it was revealed Kakashi was a water clone. Following Zabuza's tactic, Kakashi appeared behind the jonin and put his kunai at Zabuza's throat. "Don't move," Kakashi warned.

_I see, _Zabuza realized. _He saw through my illusion and copied my Water Clone Jutsu perfectly. _"You're good, Sharingan Kakashi," Zabuza said. "And you're finished," Kakashi said. Sakura and Tazuna cheered while Naruto and Sasuke didn't crack a smile. _It can't be this simple, can it? _Both of the boys thought.

Zabuza chuckled. "Finished? I won't be defeated by your crass imitations since it's just a copy. But you're full of surprises; you'd already copied my Water Clone Jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed, Kakashi." Then, Zabuza turned into water as another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. As Zabuza swung his sword, Kakashi ducked but Zauza turned and kicked Kakashi into the air.

As Zabuza moved to follow, he detected calitrops on the floor. "Trying to slow me down?" Zabuza chuckled before jumping into the water. _Kakashi-sensei got kicked into the air like that, _Sakura thought worried. _Darn, Kakashi-sensei's Sharingan doesn't seem to be doing any good, _Naruto thought. _Just how strong is that Zabuza guy? _Sasuke thought.

When Kakashi re-surfaced, he found out that the water was very dense. Then, Zabuza appeared behind him. "Fool," he said. "**Water Prison Jutsu.**" Kakashi was inside a blue sphere, his eyes wide as he realized his mistake. "I'll deal with you later, Kakashi," Zabuza said. "I'll take care of your little genin, now. **Water Clone Jutsu.**"

In front of Zabuza, one of his water clones appeared. Zabuza looked at the three genin, chuckling. _Water clones are only a tenth of the original, _Kakashi thought. _Naruto and Sasuke should be able to take this even without their doujutsus._

Naruto just grinned at Zabuza, "If you think that we're weak, don't. I'm almost as strong as Kakashi-sensei over there. And I have better jutsu than him." Zabuza just nodded, "Uh-huh, right, kid. You have better jutsu than a guy whose copied over a thousand of 'em. You're weak." Naruto just laughed before he charged at Zabuza.

"So predictable," Zabuza said, as he prepared to kick Naruto in the face. Then... Naruto disappeared from sight. Zabuza's eyes widened when he felt Naruto behind him. Just as he turned, Zabuza managed to intercept Naruto's punch before he head-butted the blonde. Naruto disappeared in smoke. _A shadow clone, _Zabuza realized. _How does a genin know an A-rank jutsu?_

"Hey, eyebrowless dude," a voice said from the a tree. Naruto sprang onto the floor. "Put this in your bingo book," the blonde said. "The guy that will become Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village is me... Naruto Uzumaki." Then, he drew a kunai and charged at Zabuza, who was sliced into water in an instant.

_Darn, _Zabuza thought. _I don't want to reveal Haku here so I need to retreat. _Fortunately, Haku knew what was going through Zabuza's mind since at that moment, he shot two senbon needles at Zabuza's pressure point in the neck. As Zabuza fell, Kakashi emerged out of the water prison, drenched. He turned to see Haku, disguised as a hunter-nin, perched on a branch.

"Thank you," Haku said. "I need to leave with Zabuza's body since it contains many secrets valuable to Kirigakure. We are in your debt, Konoha-nin, for distracting Zabuza long enough for us to locate him. You are now free of Zabuza." Having said that, Haku disappeared in a swirl of leaves with Zabuza.

Kakashi sighed, pulling down his forehead protector so it covered his left eye. "Well, come on, guys," he said looking at Naruto and the others. They all nodded and continued walking. Then, as Kakashi took a step, he collapsed to the floor. Sasuke and Naruto quickly hoisted him up, leading Tazuna to say, "He can rest at my house. It's only ten minutes from here. Come on!" With that, all of them left the scene.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, guys, sorry the battle against Zabuza was so boring. That's because I want the training and second battle against Zabuza to be way better than what it was in the anime. So, let's get rolling, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 6: **_Team 7 - Training_

Kakashi opened his eye. He looked around to find himself in an unfamiliar room. _This is probably Tazuna's place, _the Copy Ninja deduced. Unfortunately, despite having Obito's gift for around thirteen years, Kakashi still hadn't gotten used to it. "Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said next to him. He turned to see that Sakura was almost on the verge of tears. _Oh, maybe she thought I'd almost died, _Kakashi thought, guilty. "Sorry, Sakura," he said, eye-smiling. "I didn't mean to freak you guys out like that."

At that moment, the door opened and the boys came in, panting. Kakashi could see the two had been sparring from dust and some light bruises on their body. Since Naruto had less than Sasuke, he surmised that the blonde must have been winning the fight. _Later, I'm going to ask for a spar, _Kakashi thought. "Hey, guys," Kakashi said cooly.

"Why did you pass out like that?" Sasuke asked. "You shouldn't have burned up that much chakra!"

"I'm not an Uchiha," Kakashi said, "so my Sharingan is always activated and that eats a lot of chakra from me. That's why I cover it with my headband; to conserve chakra. And since I also do jutsu and fight in a battle like that, almost every drop of my chakra gets used up."

"But, sensei," Sakura said. "If your Sharingan puts you through that, then maybe it's not worth using it." Naruto and Sasuke had to avoid face-palming themselves. It was clearly obvious that she had no idea how useful a fully-matured Sharingan could be.

"Enough about that," Kakashi said. "I wanted to tell you something which you won't like. _Zabuza is alive!_" Both Naruto and Sakura's faces fell when Kakashi said that though Sasuke just nodded as if he had speculated this. "I've heard that Hunter-nin always dispose of the body on the spot," Sasuke said. "And besides, the masked ninja used senbon needles and hit Zabuza on the neck. There's a pressure point there."

"Oh, so you're saying he tricked us to believe Zabuza was dead and put him in a temporary dead state," Naruto said, his eyes widening. Sakura's confusion also disappeared while Tazuna and his daughter, Tsunami, just looked very shaken. "But," Kakashi said. "He'll need at least a week before he can move again. So you don't have to worry about him chasing us here."

Tazuna and Tsunami looked relieved at that, letting out deep breaths. "And since we know he has strong people on his side," the one-eyed jonin said,"you're going to be doing some training this week. Come with me outside so I can introduce you to your task."

Eagerly, they all went downstairs. After a moment, Kakashi came out, limping on a crutch. The genin watched, wondering how much of a toll the Sharingan must have taken on their sensei. _How did he even get it? _Sasuke wondered. _I'll have to ask him later. _"You'll be learning," Kakashi paused, "how to climb trees."

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled. "We all know how to climb trees." He went up to the tree and used his fingers to wrap around the curves and hoist himself up. "No hands, by the way," Kakashi said, causing Naruto to hit the floor. "How are we supposed to climb trees without hands?" Sasuke asked, not seeing the point of this excercise.

"Simple," Kakashi said. "You use your chakra." They watched Kakashi gather some chakra on the souls of his feet and then he casually walked up the tree. "Use a kunai to mark your progress," Kakashi said before he sat down at the side to catch up on his reading. Meanwhile, they were being watched by Inari, the grandson of Tazuna, who simply just scoffed, "What's the point of that? They're going to die by Gatou, anyways."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura laughed as she walked Sasuke and Naruto struggle with the excercise. She had beaten the two and was sitting on a branch right now, far higher than the two boys. _**Sakura **__is beating us, _they both thought. In a second, Sasuke activated his Sharingan while Naruto activated his Rinnegan. They pushed chakra into their feet and ran at the trunk.

Due to their doujutsus, Sasuke and Naruto could see what happened to the chakra as they went up. "So, the chakra disappears," Naruto muttered. "The chakra has to be focused," Sasuke realized. They marked their spot with the kunai before going at it again.

"What do you think, sensei?" Sakura said to Kakashi, glad she had beaten Naruto and Sasuke at something.

"Very good, Sakura," Kakashi looked up from his book. "The fact you possess the least chakra in the entire group has made your chakra control very good. Unfortunately, Sasuke and Naruto have way more chakra than you and thus, their chakra control is still improving. But you still have to make it to the top so get moving."

Sakura groaned but continued doing the exercise, causing Kakashi to return to his book. He remembered when Minato had taught them tree-walking; Kakashi and Obito had to struggle a lot since they had abysmal amounts of chakra compared to Rin, who easily mastered the excercise by the end of the day. But Kakashi did not have his Sharingan then and Obito had not unlocked his; compared to that, the boys' doujutsus could probably help them enough to get this excercise by today or definitely tomorrow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sensei," Sakura got his attention again. "I can climb up to the top, now."

Kakashi eye-smiled and told Naruto and Sasuke to stop. "Show us, Sakura," he told her. Sakura blushed, thinking that Sasuke would be impressed by her finally. Gathering chakra around her feet, she ran up the bark and without slowing down, she made it to the top of the tree, grinning proudly down at them. While Naruto and Sasuke was happy she was not completely useless, they were upset that Sakura had better chakra control than them.

Immediately, they went back to the excercise with a horrible vengeance. Sakura's face dropped when she realized that Sasuke had become more jealous than impressed. _I'm better than the last Uchiha and only Rinnegan holder at chakra control, though, _Sakura realized, smiling.

"Alright," Naruto yelled. "I've had it. **Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Immediately, around a dozen clones were summoned. Naruto ordered them to do the same excercise as him. "Now watch, Sakura," he smirked at her, cockily. "I'm get this down in an hour." Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the blonde's training method, _So he's finally using his head, huh?_ "Yosh," he got up, closing his orange book. "Sakura, you're going to now learn water-walking."

Naruto immediately formed another five clones. "Go with Sensei and Sakura for water-walking," Naruto barked at them. They followed Kakashi and Sakura to the pool. "What you lookin' at, teme?" Naruto grinned at the shocked Sasuke. "Me and Sakura are both gonna be ahead of you." Having said that, Sasuke quickly got over his shock and repeated the excercise another series of times.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By late evening, Sakura was too tired to do anything but walk slowly back to Tazuna's house. In a blur, Naruto passed her and entered the house shouting, "FOOD!" _How much chakra does the baka have? _Sakura wondered, awed that Naruto could still run at his blurring speed after all of the training Kakashi had given them. Kakashi laughed inwardly when he saw her expression through the window. _It's a good thing she and Sasuke didn't get Guy as a teacher, _he thought. They would've had completely limp limbs after just one hour of training with that stamina beast.

He also noticed that Sasuke was still practicing the tree-walking exercise. Around noon, Naruto had finally mastered both tree and water-walking to quite a good degree so Kakashi had been pointing out flaws in his taijutsu style, which Naruto had spent the rest of the time correcting. Sasuke had fumed at that and had doubled his efforts in beating his fellow teammates.

"Tsunami-san," he said when she came to set Sasuke's food. "Sasuke will be training for another hour before he comes," Kakashi told her, who nodded and took the food away. But Kakashi knew that Sasuke's Uchiha pride would not allow him to give up until he mastered the excercise.

"Mom," a kid said. "Why are all these people wasting their time here? They're just going to die!"

"Die?" Naruto said, as if that idea seemed completely foreign to him. "What do you mean die? I'm not gonna die until I've spent at least two decades being the Hokage of my village? And why are you so negative, anyways?"

"Humph," Inari said, turning his head. "You don't know anything about what this village has gone through. Yet you come here, with your happy atitude and trying to be the hero? There are no heroes and Gatou is too powerful; he'll just kill you. You don't understand pain and suffering!"

"_I _don't understand pain and suffering," Naruto muttered, the temperature in the room dropping. "Kid, don't ever say something which you have _no _idea about. I've been hunted by the people of my village since I was born for something which I have no control over. I don't have any parents or living family and neither do I know them. And you know what? You're absolutely right; we're not heroes. Your grandfather is... because he's the one fighting and risking his life to make sure this country gets freedom. You're just dishonoring him but saying what you are now."

Naruto ate up the last bit of his food before handing the plate to Tsunami, who had shock all over her face. "Thanks for the food, Tsunami-san," Naruto smiled at her before he headed up to his room. Inari had begun to cry and he ran up to his room as well. "Kakashi-san," Tsunami spoke, her voice trembling. "Is that true about Naruto?"

Kakashi sighed. He didn't want to ruin Konoha's name but Naruto had already said a lot. "Yes, it's true," the Copy Ninja said. "Naruto is not liked at all by the civilians in the village and while the shinobi can tolerate him, they advise their children to say away from Naruto."

"Why?" Tazuna asked, curious.

"That I can't tell you," Kakashi said. "But it is definitely not Naruto's fault and it is definitely beyond his control, so people hating him or being wary of him is very harsh and stupid, for lack of a better word."

"But he's always so cheerful," Tsunami muttered, comparing Naruto to Inari.

"That's right," Kakashi eye-smiled, proud of his pupil. "I think one day he just got tired of it all and tried to become stronger to prevent it. Naruto knows that the only way to overcome hatred is by being peaceful and positive towards life. That's just the kind of guy Naruto Uzumaki is."

Sakura was meanwhile crying inwardly. Her mother had oftened said **very **bad words about Naruto, which she had for some reason followed. But the way Naruto had burst out and Kakashi had said, she could understand the blonde's feelings. _I've called him so many names and underestimated him, _Sakura thought, angry at herself for listening to her mother.

After that, they just quietly finished their meal before thanking Tsunami and heading upstairs to sleep. Then, Sasuke came in, panting. "I did it," he said to the eyebrow-raised Tazuna. "I mastered the exercise, finally." To that, Tazuna and Tsunami just nodded and he got his meal, quickly eating it before joining his friends upstairs.

"So," Naruto said, looking at Sasuke. "Did you finally do it?"

"Yep," Sasuke smiled tiredly at Naruto. "Without your shadow clones you would have taken much longer than me, dobe!"

"True," Naruto mused, causing Sasuke's smile to widen. "But since I have them, why not use the technique for training purposes?"

Sasuke nodded; it made sense. "Teme, tomorrow you need to learn water-walking while I get to train," Naruto said, smug.

"Don't get so excited, dobe," Sasuke brooded. "The principle is the same for both exercises so I'll get it done in a few hours. Then, we'll spar to see who's stronger and hopefully, we can improve our skills."

"Doujutsu or not?" Naruto asked him.

"First without and then, with," Sasuke said as he went to sleep. "You'd better be ready for me as I've learned a lot of things," the Uchiha was sure to remind the blonde before he closed his eyes. _Was he doing other stuff outside? _Naruto wondered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hello, Naruto," Nagato greeted. "I think you have a lot of things to tell me, young Uzumaki."

"You're right, ojisan," Naruto said. He then spent some time telling the red-haired man about how their mission was not a C-rank but actually an A-rank mission with jonin such as Zabuza Momochi. "The Demon of the Mist," Nagato said, his eyebrow raised. "Your sensei was skilled enough to take on that rogue and has a Sharingan in his left eye, huh?"

Naruto nodded. "Since Zabuza was busy holding Kakashi-sensei, he had his water clone engage me in combat but it was so weak that I was incredibly bored. Then, he got taken out by his own teammate, who was disguised as a Kiri hunter-nin to fool us."

"Oh I've met them before," Nagato said. "Did they have slits around the nose area?"

Naruto nodded. "That's their mask, alright. Kakashi-sensei says that we need to be prepared so he gave us some training; we had to walk on trees and water using chakra."

Nagato snorted. "That's so old," he said. "I learned the chakra control exercise with Jiraiya-sensei when I was only ten. We should proceed with your training, now."

"WHAT?" Naruto bursted. "Your sensei was Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"Indeed," Nagato smiled. "He was the perfect teacher and taught me many jutsu to use. He also instilled within me several important morals on being a shinobi... unfortunately, I forgot these for a long time before I remembered a short while before dying."

When he saw Naruto's puzzled look, Nagato waved him aside. "We have to get you to master the Paths since I will only be here for another three days or so. I have several scrolls for you, which you will find in this garden after I leave."

Naruto nodded. He wondered what he would say when Nagato left. "Alright, you have to practice summoning some animals from the Animal Path," Nagato said. "I know you can summon the eagle and rhino perfectly so we will work on the dog and chameleon since those are the best."

"What was so cool about them again?" Naruto scratched his head, earning a whack from his sensei and relative.

"Baka," Nagato chided. "You should remember your summonings and their abilities; the dog multiplies whenever it is hit so that makes it a good counter to the summonings of the enemy. The only way the hound can be defeated is if the owner dies.

"The chameleon is unarguably the strongest summoning of the Animal Path. It can camouflage which is very effective against anybody without the Sharingan, Byakugan, or barrier fuinjutsu. So, you could overpower a regular jonin with little to no difficulty unless they have a jutsu like... um... Barrier: Canopy Method Formation."

"What does that jutsu do?" Naruto asked, eager to learn it.

"You simply make a barrier, which will expand to envelope the entire room," Nagato said. "I don't really remember since I saw this jutsu almost four or five years ago. But I think it's a detection jutsu where you're alerted if the person moves inside the barrier. If you ever meet Jiraiya-sensei, he could teach it to you since I think he knows it."

"**Summoning Jutsu,**" Naruto yelled after cutting his finger and the making the necessary hand-signs. As smoke burst out, nothing happened. "Push more chakra, Naruto," Nagato suggested. Naruto repeated the same jutsu another time, this time summoning the dog. It dispelled after Naruto told it to go.

The chameleon took a few tries but Naruto summoned it and tested its camouflage ability. Nagato turned off his Rinnegan and tried to locate Naruto, but found it impossible. But since Naruto did not have affinity with working with the chameleon, he made a lot of noise coming towards Nagato, causing him to be spot-out.

They spent the next few hours working on the collaboration and it turns out that Naruto could not communicate with the chameleon using words. Since Naruto had the Rinnegan, he just had to exert his chakra on it and will it what to do and it would happen. The chameleon's tongue helped in taking care of opponents a long distance away.

"When will I learn the techniques of the other Paths?" Naruto asked Nagato, who simply chuckled.

"Patience, Naruto," Nagato said. "At your current mastery of the Rinnegan, you can only handle the Animal, Human, and Preta Paths. The Deva, Asura, and Naraka Paths are incredibly difficult to use and you are not ready for them yet! But I will leave scrolls for you with how to use them and applications of those Paths."

"What do we do now?" Naruto asked.

"I will get you to learn some more ninjutsu; you know one or two wind techniques, one or two water techniques, and that's it. So you will need to learn some fire, earth, and lightning techniques as well; Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet, Earth Style: Earth Wall, and Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder."

The next few hours were spent learning these three techniques. Naruto found it amazing that he had equal difficulty learning these compared to the wind and water jutsus he learned. "Most shinobi have one or two affinities and focus on learning those," Nagato explained. "The Rinnegan enables shinobi to have an affinity for every element."

Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet was similar to the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu except it did not release a fireball, only a stream of fire. As the name suggests, the stream of fire was also much faster than the fireball and did not require as much chakra to use.

Earth Style: Earth Wall made a defensive wall of earth used to either block from water and fire jutsu or to trap the opponent so they could not back out of the fight. The only way to counter it would be to use wind or lightning jutsu to break the wall or engage the opponent head-on if they could not back out.

Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder was a jutsu that made a small area infused with static shocks and electricity, which would paralyse the person for a short while. To increase the area affected, it can be used with Water Style: Wild Water Wave.

Nagato improved some more of Naruto's taijutsu by sparring with him and letting him copy little bits. Then, the two Uzumakis had a small conversation on the Sage of the Six Paths. "So he was the first human?" Naruto asked.

"No, not really," Nagato said. "In fact, humans have around longer than the Sage of the Six Paths. But they weren't really that important and only a few tribes had them. Do you want to know the complete story of the Sage and the Rinnegan?"

Naruto nodded, excited to hear. Nagato chuckled before he began, "The mother of the Sage, Kaguya, was a princess and to prevent the constant war of mankind, she ate a forbidden fruit of the Shinju tree. Because of that, she attained the Rinnegan, which granted her god-like powers. With it, she stopped the endless war between mankind and there was peace for a while.

The Shinju tree became aware of Kaguya and wanted her to give her powers to it. When Kaguya refused, it became furious and assumed a monstrous shape, otherwise known as the Juubi. It went around terrorising the humans and plagued the entire world. Kaguya was not enough to stop it; she gave birth to a young child, who grew up to be the Sage of the Six Paths. Do you know why he is called the Saviour of this World?"

Naruto shook his head. "The Juubi was intending to destroy mankind and put all species in extinction," Nagato said. "The Sage used his Rinnegan and his legendary powers to defeat the Juubi in combat and sealed its body in a ball. The moon in the sky actually contains the body of the Juubi." Naruto's eyes widened when he realized how adept the Sage must've been with the Rinnegan.

"Yes," Nagato laughed. "He was that strong. And mankind experienced another era of peace until the Sage became ill. He had had two sons; the Uchiha Clan ancestor and the Senju clan ancestor. Did you know that all of the other clans in the world come actually from these two people?" Naruto again shook his head, amazed that Sasuke's clan was indeed so old.

"The rest of the story you already know," Nagato ruffled Naruto's hair. "But war and hatred never stopped; it occurs even now in the world. Both Jiraiya and me have tried to stop it but none of us could do it. Jiraiya-sensei however was the perfect example while I, the perfect failure."

Naruto shook his head. "But, ojisan," the boy said. "You're an amazing teacher so why couldn't you figure out the answer to finding peace?"

"It was too hard," Nagato smiled. "And I also lost sight of a the things Jiraiya-sensei had taught me; know this, Naruto, never become too dependent on your Rinnegan. It is a drug that will strengthen you but can ultimately be your undoing." As Naruto processed that, Nagato smiled at the blonde. "Now, come on," he said. "Get up! Don't you have your match with Sasuke?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was around midday when Naruto woke up. He could hear large noises coming from outside. Taking a look, he saw Kakashi teaching Sasuke new ninjutsu while Sakura tried to master a genjutsu at the side. _Good to see Kakashi-sensei is teaching them well, _Naruto thought. He went downstairs and waved at Tsunami, "Tsunami-san, I'm starving; what do you have?"

She beamed at him and gave him his meal. In so many ways, Naruto was similar to her late husband, Kaiza. They both never gave up and did their best at everything, even if it seemed pointless. And since she had heard Naruto had been treated badly in his village, she had opened up even more and treated him like the son Inari would have become if Kaiza had still been around.

"See ya later, Tsunami-san," Naruto waved as he finished his meal and headed out. _With all that power, Naruto could actually... _her thought was left incomplete. Meanwhile, Naruto went outside and Sasuke spotted him. "Yosh, dobe," Sasuke yelled. "Let's do this!"

Kakashi and Sakura watched from the sidelines as Naruto and Sasuke stood, around twenty meters between them. Sasuke settled into the Uchiha interceptor style while Naruto went into his own. The two waited for a moment, letting the wind blow before they charged at each other.

Sasuke's speed had increased greatly since the night before the mission as he was able to quickly land two consecutive hits on Naruto before moving away. "So you've gotten faster," Naruto said. He smirked and replied, "Looks like I don't need to hold back." Sasuke just snorted, "If you do, you'll just lose."

They charged at each other but Naruto deflected Sasuke's kick and kicked underneath the Uchiha, causing him to fall on the floor. Quickly getting behind Sasuke, Naruto unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, most of which caught Sasuke. Gasping, he backed away as Naruto yelled, "**Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Four shadow clones appeared beside Naruto.

Sasuke pushed chakra into his feet and dashed to the side to escape the clones, charging at him. Naruto simply smirked and disappeared from Sasuke's sight. _Shit, _Sasuke cursed, turning as fast as he could. He didn't make it as Naruto kicked him. "U-zu-ma-ki," the clones chorused as they each kicked Sasuke in the gut. "Naruto Barrage!" The last kick was blocked by Sasuke, who swept Naruto's leg aside and punched him in the face, causing him to disappear in smoke.

On the ground, Naruto went through a series of hand-signs. "This is a new one," Naruto said. "**Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!**" Kakashi's eye widened as he knew that jutsu; Sasuke quickly went through some hand-signs as well, "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.**" While fire was not as effective as wind, it managed to weaken Naruto's technique enough so it became useless.

Sasuke threw a multitude of kunai at Naruto, who quickly placed his hands on the ground, "**Earth Style: Earth Wall.**" A wall of earth rose to intercept the kunai. "Get past my defense, teme," Naruto mocked. Sasuke just went through his own signs before yelling, "You need to thank Kakashi for this one: **Wind Style: Divine Wind.**" Naruto quickly dodged and his wall of earth got crushed by a few tornadoes.

_I can take advantage of the wind, _thought Naruto, smiling. "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet,**" Naruto yelled before breathing a large stream of fire, which went flashing towards the tornadoes. As the fire met the wind, a large flaming hurricane headed in Sasuke's direction. _I don't have any water jutsu, _Sasuke thought, alarmed. He quickly made a few hand-seals, "**Earth Style: Earth Rampart.**" Sasuke moved behind the wall of earth he had formed, which absorbed most of the impact but Sasuke did get a few sings.

"Teme," Naruto called. "Come out from behind that and face me!" Sasuke cursed before he came out to meet Naruto, who surprised him. "You fell for it; **Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains.**" A gust of wind crushed into the Uchiha, sending Sasuke plummeting back several feet before sprawling onto the floor.

Sasuke slowly got up and activated his Sharingan, shocking Naruto. "You have two tomoe," Naruto realized, shocked that Sasuke's Sharingan had evolved. "I'm not gonna fight Zabuza with only a first-stage Sharingan," Sasuke said. "Come on and use your Rinnegan."

Naruto shook his head, infuriating Sasuke. "I don't even need it, yet," he said. "I've decided not to use my eyes that much." "Then, I'll force you to use it. **Wind Style: Divine Wind.**" Naruto quickly moved out of the way of the jutsu. "You better not copy any of my moves, teme," Naruto yelled. Sasuke just grinned, not answering Naruto.

Charging at Naruto, he aimed a punch at the blonde, who blocked it easily. As he kicked Sasuke, the latter's Sharingan allowed him to bat the limb aside. "I can see your moves, Naruto," Sasuke grinned, as he dodged every one of Naruto's punches. "Let's see if you can catch this," Naruto yelled before he disappeared from sight.

Sasuke ducked on instinct, causing Naruto's punch to go through thin air. "Nice reflexes," Naruto praised. "Your Sharingan is quite good." Then, Naruto's feet crashed into Sasuke's chest, sending the latter through the air. "But you're too confident on them," Naruto shook his head. "**Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!**" This time, Sasuke wasn't able to intercept the technique with his own and could do nothing as his whole body was paralysed by static shocks.

"To wrap this up; **Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains,**" Naruto sent a wave of wind to crash into Sasuke, causing the Uchiha's Sharingan to turn off and sending him tumbling downhill. "I think the match is over," Kakashi said. He looked impressed; Naruto has used seven jutsus ranging from A to C-rank along with a taijutsu match yet he didn't have any sweat on him. However, Sasuke was running low on chakra and had several mean bruises not to mention getting hit with wind after being electrocuted.

"Let go of me, Naruto," Sasuke protested when Naruto tried to help him up. "The match is not over yet! I haven't even gotten you to use your eyes!" Naruto just shook his head. "Sasuke, I'm not going to use them," Naruto said. "Our doujutsus are not some toy to be used; I'm not going to use it in every battle. Besides, you used two new jutsu and I know you have more in your arsenal. Come on, you need to rest since the battle against Zabuza is only a six days away."

While he scowled, Sasuke still listened to Naruto and was escorted by him to Tsunami's house. "Naruto," she said. "You always seem to make people get hurt around you; did you really have to use that many techniques against Sasuke?"

Naruto just smiled, "My Uchiha friend would be humiliated if I didn't take the fight seriously. He really wanted to test himself against me and I do see that he has gotten much stronger than before. The wounds are my way of saying, 'good job' to him."

Tsunami sighed before leaving the room, muttering about boys and their nature. Naruto gave a goofy laugh after she left. _She's a lot like Ayame, _Naruto thought; like an overbearing sister. Quickly shaking his head, he went downstairs to eat dinner with Kakashi, Sakura, Inari, and Tazuna. Since Sakura had already finished, she was looking at the pictures on the wall.

Naruto stuffed his stomach with food, wolfing a quarter of it down in seconds. The fight with Sasuke had taken off around two-fifths of his chakra and while he didn't feel it, Sasuke had made Naruto actually work in the fight. He'd improved an eternity from that night, two days ago, when they had first unlocked his Sharingan. Then, he had been angry, impatient, and jealous. While Sasuke still had that, he seemed to be much more focused on getting stronger and acknowledged Naruto completely now.

"Why is the picture torn here?" Sakura asked, causing Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami to stop whatever they were doing. Inari quickly got up before running out of the dining room, his eyes hidden. "Inari," Tsunami said sharply. She quickly followed him. Seeing all of the confused stares, Tazuna sighed heavily.

"The man in that picture is dead," Tazuna explained. "His name was Kaiza. He was the Hero of the Land of Waves until Gatou killed him." Hearing that, Naruto and Sakura's face fell while Naruto looked shocked beyond belief.

"He wasn't Inari's real father," Tazuna continued. "He came into our family much later and brought a lot of happiness. He and Inari were very close and almost nothing could separate them. In those days, Inari used to be a happy child, always smiling and laughing, but now he's but a shadow of his former self. He never smiles or laughs and is always gloomy and serious since that day."

"That day?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Tazuna said. "The day when this country lost its courage to stand up to Gatou and his gang. To understand what happened to us, you need to know about Kaiza, the hero. He came here three years ago in prospects of finding a new place to fish; Kaiza was a fisherman. He and Inari met when he saved Inari from drowning and taught him to always pursue things and never give up; to use his two arms to protect what you need to protect."

Naruto smiled. "What a great guy!" Tazuna also smiled, _Not surprising you'd say that. You're just like him, Naruto. _"Inari learned a lot from him that day," Tazuna said. "Since then, they became inseparable and Kaiza became a part of our family, even marrying Tsunami later on. Kaiza was so brave that he even risked his own life for us several times such as dam doors... he taught a lot to the land."

"Where does Gatou come into this?" Kakashi asked.

Tazuna sighed heavily. "Around a month after that," he began. "Gatou had appeared and Kaiza was the only person who was brave enough to fight against Gatou. It took an entire gang to take down one determined fisherman but they ultimately caught Kaiza, cut off his arms, and executed our hero in front of us to warn us what would happen to those who tried to come in their way."

"So that's why Inari keeps thinking we're going to die," Sakura said, ending the story. Then, they all turned when they felt killing intent come from a certain blonde. Naruto's Rinnegan came on in both eyes showing death, "If I get my hands on this Gatou guy, I will definitely kill him!"

There was a large silence after that as Naruto sighed before deactivating the Rinnegan. He washed his face before going upstairs to meditate before sleeping. As he meditated, he thought about Kaiza and Gatou; it was obvious a guy like Gatou would probably not pay Zabuza and would probably kill him after he would take care of Kakashi and them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, Naruto woke up early and trained a bit in the meadow before falling asleep. Some time after that, Haku came into the meadow, looking at Naruto. _He's that blonde, _Haku thought about Naruto. He turned and was amazed to see a lot of burned grass a bit farther away. _He's very strong!_

Haku held a senbon in his hand, contemplating whether he should kill Naruto or not. Then, the blonde began to wake up, causing Haku to quickly put his needle away. "Hello," Haku said, kindly. Naruto did not know him by face or name so this should be no problem. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," Naruto said, getting up. "I was training here since I woke up early but since this place is so nice, I fell asleep again."

"I see," Haku began to collect flowers. The blonde's presence did not threaten her in the least, unlike Zabuza's when she had met him the first time. "Why are you training? You seem very strong."

"I need to train so I can get stronger," Naruto explained. "I'm still not strong enough to protect the people I care about. Until I can do that, I need to continue training!"

"That's good," Haku said. "I believe that if a person has someone he wants to protect, he or she can truly become strong. Do you have a lot of people close to you?"

Naruto shook his head, surprising Haku. _I thought Konoha ninja were not with problems, _he thought. There was more to what met the eye with this one. "I don't have a lot of people," Naruto admitted. "I have my three teammates, sensei, another sensei back home, the old man, a few friends back home, and now Tazuna and his family."

Haku didn't say anything and only continued picking his flowers. _Aren't those medicinal herbs? _Naruto thought. _And this smell... I smelt it when... _Naruto's eyes widened before he quickly changed it back. "Do you have someone wounded?" Naruto asked but saw him tense slightly. "Those are medicinal herbs, after all."

"Yes," Haku said, relaxing back. "My father is ill and has some wounds so I'm taking these to him."

"Zabuza's your father?" Naruto asked, shocked. This caused Haku to immediately back away from him, senbon in hand. Naruto just sat there, smiling. "Relax," he said. "I'm not gonna fight here. We can do that later too. I have a deal for Zabuza."

"A deal?" Haku asked, lowering his senbon slightly. "What deal do you speak of, Konoha ninja?"

"My name is Naruto," he said, looking pointedly at him. "Can I know yours?"

"Haku," he said curtly. "Now, explain your preposition."

"Gatou is probably going to double-cross you," Naruto said, causing Haku's eyes to widen. "He's not the type to pay his client especially if they're expensive ninja."

"Do you have any proof of what you say?" Haku asked, not believing the blonde's claim.

"I can go with you to Gatou's main industry," Naruto said. "I can take out a businessman and his bodyguards. You can also transform into a bodyguard while I get my shadow clones to transform into the other ones. I can transform into the businessman."

Haku nodded. "This seems acceptable; if what you say is true you will need to meet my master, Naruto."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_So Gatou's a busy guy, huh? _Naruto thought as he saw several businessmen come in a line with mean body-guards. Naruto picked the guy at the back who would be easy to get. He activated the Rinnegan and said, "**Summoning Jutsu.**" He quickly summoned the chameleon and got it to use camouflage. Then, he sneaked through the yard towards the line.

"The tongue is awesome," Naruto decided as the chameleon used its tongue to bring the businessman and his bodyguards into the yard in one swift movement. Naruto buried two fists into the guts of the bodyguard before giving each an uppercut, instantly knocking them out. He knocked out the businessman before he could start screaming.

Naruto quickly formed a shadow clone and beckoned Haku over. She leaped over the fence and stalked up to Naruto. "Transform into this guy," Naruto said, pointing to one of the bodyguards. She and his shadow clone transformed into the bodyguards while Naruto transformed into the businessman.

Using the chameleon's tongue, they took their place in the line before anybody could detect anything was amiss. Naruto dispelled the chameleon and turned off his Rinnegan behind the disguise. After twenty minutes, they were granted an audience by Gatou.

"Gatou," Naruto said in a professional voice. "How is the industry going?"

Gatou simply smiled. "You're known to be a serious man, Yashima," the little man said. "Please don't waste my time by beating around the bush."

"Alright," Naruto said. "I need you to execute Zabuza and I am willing to vote for you in the elections."

Gatou sat up. "What do you have against Zabuza? Currently, I have employed that baby demon to execute Tazuna, the builder of the bridge."

"Well, then, instead of paying him," Naruto said, "just dispose of him. Aren't you supposed to be one of the world's wealthiest men?"

"Ha," Gatou leaned back. "I was planning on doing exactly that; Zabuza is too expensive and he doesn't even get the job done. So consider your request accepted but you need to vote for me, Yashima, otherwise you know what I can do."

"To show my loyalty," Naruto said. "In a week from now, send your men to collect some... 'item' from a white boat in the harbor, 'The Tiger Empress.' I think you'll like what I have for you."

"Oho," Gatou said. "So you've begun dealing with drugs as well, Yashima? Looks like you took my advice, old man. Now go away since I don't have any more time." Naruto gave a bow before leaving the industry with Haku and his clone.

Back in the bushes, they dropped their Transformation Jutsu. "So you were right, Naruto," Haku said. "Looks like you understood the midget's motives perfectly."

"Once a double-crosser, always a double-crosser," Naruto explained shortly. "Now listen to the plan and don't forget any detail since Zabuza needs to know this!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When he got back, his teammates and Tazuna roared at him. "NARUTO," Kakashi yelled. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! WE'VE SPENT THE LAST HOUR LOOKING FOR YOU."

"I made a deal with Zabuza," Naruto said, calmy. "YOU WHAT!?" They yelled at him, even louder.

"I had a suspicion that Gatou would double-cross Zabuza," Naruto explained. "I met Haku earlier at the meadow so I told him about this; since I didn't have any proof, I asked him to come with me to Gatou's industry here. We used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise ourselves as a businessman and Gatou revealed that he had indeed been playing to take Zabuza down after he would take care of us."

"Nice thinking," Kakashi said, calmed down now. "We thought you had been abducted by Gatou or Zabuza. Looks like you were trying to get us the win."

"Nice going, dobe," Sasuke said, amazed that Naruto had used his brain for once. "We're still gonna have that match right?"

Naruto nodded. "Gatou will have scouts on the end of the bridge to see if Zabuza is actually doing something. So everything has to go how it would've; except we won't go completely serious and Zabuza and Haku will pretend to be injured when Gatou shows up at the bridge with his thugs."

"I see," Kakashi said. "So you guys don't have to train so hard, now."

"We're still going to," Naruto said. "Haku told me that Gatou has had more people accompany Zabuza; one of them include a guy in a hood while the other is smaller and also wears a hood. Haku also tells me that they're chunin to jonin level."

"What are their names?" Kakashi asked, hoping Naruto knew.

"Neither Zabuza nor Haku know their names," Naruto explained. "It seems as if Gatou had planned this to be a full murder for us and a full double-crossing for Zabuza and Haku."

"You did good, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Now at least we know that Zabuza and Haku aren't going to be the main problem. We should get to work then." As they stood up to train, Kakashi added, "Naruto, you should leave a note the next time you do something like this."

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "I total forgot about that, sorry." Kakashi waved him off and Sasuke got to practicing ninjutsu, Sakura genjutsu, while Naruto began to contact Nagato to resume his training and tell him about what would happen at the bridge.


	7. Chapter 7

I know you've been waiting for this: the battle at the bridge. I'm also going to reveal the two hodded people that Gatou sent with Zabuza. Once this is finished I'll begin writing the Chunin Exams which I know you guys can't wait for and neither can I. So let this chapter commence!

**Chapter 7**: _Team 7 vs. Zabuza - Round 2_

Several days after Naruto had made his deal with Zabuza, the time for Nagato's departure had come. As they sat at the garden, Nagato told him about his life: he had been an orphan from Amegakure whose parents had been killed in war, leaving him starving. Then, he found two other orphans: Yahiko and Konan. They had lived together for some time but due to running out of food, they walked around the land.

Then, Jiraiya and his Sannin found them. The Toad Sage took them as apprentices and taught them how to fight and how to use ninjutsu. "So that's how you learned all those elemental jutsu," Naruto said. Nagato nodded before continuing. Some time after that, Jiraiya left them to return back to the Hidden Leaf.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were contacted by a stranger in a mask, calling himself Madara Uchiha. Getting inspiration from him, they made their organization known as Akatsuki to stop the war. After their organization became very famous, they were approached by Hanzou the Salamander, who offered to help them but it was actually a ploy to kill them.

Yahiko was killed but Madara appeared in time to save him and Konan. After that, Akatsuki became a different type of organization. "They began to hunt down jinchuuriki and absorb their Bijuu from them," Nagato said slowly, looking for Naruto's expression.

"Wow," Naruto said, smiling. "That's good, isn't it? They're trying to help us get rid of these monsters."

"Yeah," Nagato muttered. "Except you died after the extraction."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Y-you worked in an organization that wanted to kill people like me, ojisan?"

"Madara Uchiha expertly controlled me," Nagato explained. "He deluded me so much that I even began to work for him without questioning him. That night, when the Nine-Tails attacked the Hidden Leaf Village, it was... because of me."

"WHAT?" Naruto asked. "So you're the reason why so many people don't have family any more."

Nagato had tears in his eyes. "I used the Rinnegan to control the Kyuubi and had it attack Konoha," he said quietly. "Fortunately, the Yondaime Hokage managed to break my control over the Kyuubi and he sealed it inside you."

"D-do you know why?" Naruto asked slowly.

Nagato hesitated but didn't want Naruto to know so early on. "No," he shook his head. "I don't know that since I had passed out for a while. Later, when I awoke, I saw him sealing the Nine-Tails inside you. Since I was the reason for so much pain, I felt I had to repay you Leaf people; so I gave you my Rinnegan eyes. To see the future you would take."

"S-so these eyes," Naruto said, shaken, "they're your eyes?"

Nagato nodded, mutely. "The Yondaime casted a seal so that you could only awaken those eyes if you were 12 or older and were put under pressure," he said to the shocked Naruto.

"So that's how I awakened them against Mizuki," Naruto realized, getting another nod from Nagato.

"The Yondaime sealed some of my chakra, a week's worth, inside you to guide you," Nagato said. "He knew the Rinnegan wouldn't be an easy power to learn."

Naruto was quiet before he smiled at Nagato. "Thank you, ojisan," he whispered to Nagato. "These eyes will help me a lot... I will use your legacy wisely after you leave."

Nagato shook his head. "They're my eyes," he said. "So I will see what path you take and whether you will be the Child of Prophecy."

"Child of Prophecy?" Naruto asked; he hadn't heard that before. "Yes," Nagato smiled. "Long ago, the Great Toad Elder made a prophecy; one of Jiraiya's students would either bring the world to great destruction or salvation. Initially, both Jiraiya and I thought it was referring to me; but I think you are the Child of Prophecy."

"But how?" Naruto asked. "I'm not even the student of Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya," Nagato said. "He taught the Yondaime, the person who sealed the Kyuubi inside you, and he taught me, the person who gave you the Rinnegan. I think when you get to Konoha you will see him waiting for you. Learn from him; he's a great man, who I couldn't live up to."

Then, Naruto's form began to give away. "Naruto," he spoke quickly. "I don't have any time left; you need to get very strong to hold your own against Madara. He's even more powerful than me; you will need to master the Kyuubi and the Rinnegan to hold a chance. These scrolls I've made will guide you to understand the other paths and some more techniques." He set three scrolls on the ground.

Naruto couldn't help shedding a few tears. "I will miss you, ojisan," the blonde said. "No matter whose orders you took; I think Jiraiya would still be proud of your choice since you redeemed yourself."

"You've matured a lot, Naruto," Nagato noticed. "Now I can leave everything up to you... Good luck, nephew."

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Naruto opened his eyes slowly and sat up. "Naruto," Tsunami said, smiling at him. "Had a good sleep?" Naruto just nodded. "Where are the others? I don't hear them," Naruto noticed. Tsunami just said, "They already went to the bridge to fight Zabuza and his ninja. You were sleeping deeply so they didn't want to wake you."

Naruto immediately sprang up. "Tsunami-san," he said. "Give me breakfast quick so I can join them." After eating his breakfast quickly, Naruto gave a bye before dashing out of the house.

He angrily waded through the forest. _They should've woken me up, _Naruto thought. _But then again, I was taking to Nagato-ojisan. _Something caught his eye, causing him to stop. Once he got closer, he noticed a badly cut-up boar. Naruto immediately realized who was going the other way. _My clones should be able to handle them with ease, _he hoped before he continued on his way.

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The main door was kicked open and two brutes came through. Tsunami and Inari turned to see they were Gatou's men. "Well, hello there," they said, smiling. "It's been a long time, Kaiza's relatives." A look of horror crossed Tsunami and Inari's faces as they saw who the swordmen were. They were the same people who had executed Kaiza, a year ago.

One of them grabbed Tsunami's hand. "Gatou has given orders to capture you," he said, pulling rougly. "Come with us peacefully and we will spare your little boy." Tsunami nodded and began to walk away with them but Inari couldn't help screaming, "Hey, you bullies, let go of my mommy."

The taller man just grinned and began to unsheathe his sword. "No, don't," Tsunami yelled, thinking of an excuse. "I beg you, please don't hurt him. I'll do anything; just don't hurt him!" The man put his sword back while the other one looked at Inari, "Looks like your mom came through for you; you should be grateful to her."

Then, they grabbed Tsunami and went outside. Inari recalled Naruto and his father's words. _If you want to protect something, use both arms and never give up, _Kaiza had said. _I've felt greater pain than you yet I'm still going so what are you complaining about, _Naruto had said. While he knew he was no match for them, Inari stood up and went outside.

"HEY," Inari yelled, catching their attention. "COME BACK HERE, YOU BULLIES! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"Well, well," one of them said. "If it isn't the tough guy here for his mommy. He's a bit short on brains."

"Let's get rid of him," the other said. Together they charged at Inari, swords poised to kill before they were kicked in the face by two Narutos. The third one quickly got Inari and Tsunami before going back on the other side of pavement. The two brutes looked up before grinning, "So you can use shadow clones, huh? That means that one strike will kill you."

The Narutos just grinned. Since Inari didn't know about the clones, he was very surprised. "A hero always shows up at the last moment," one of the clones said. Tsunami's eyebrow ticked, _He was late because he wanted Inari to see there were heroes. When he finishes them, I will make sure Naruto feels his clones die._

The two charged at Naruto with incredible speed before the blondes used their superior speed to appear behind them. They turned too late since they were kicked in the head, getting knocked out instantly. "Man," one of the clones said. "Gatou's men are seriously weak."

"But how did you know that they were coming for us?" Inari asked Naruto.

"Boss saw a cut-up boar in the forest and some cut-up trees," Naruto explained. "It looked like someone had been practicing swordplay there. So Boss sent us here to defend you guys."

"That's so smart; you're really cool," Inari laughed, causing the clones to grin. Then, they felt something behind them so they turned to see an incredibly pissed off Tsunami. She gave a primal roar before slapping the clones in the face, making them disappear in a poof.

"Tsunami-san," the remaining clone pleaded. "Please, I wanted Inari to become happy again so I did this. And you didn't get hurt."

"You idiot," she roared at the clone. "Because of your dramatics, I had to beg those low-lifes for Inari's life." She slapped the clone with it disappearing. "But thanks, Naruto," she said to the sky. "You definitely helped Inari a lot." Back at the edge of the forest, Naruto, who had shivered after getting his clone's memories, just nodded as if he had somehow heard her.

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"Kakashi," Zabuza greeted on the bridge. "I'm being watched so I have to give this everything I have. So expect me to use all of my flashy killer moves." Kakashi knew that Zabuza was actually telling him, _Sorry, I promised the blonde kid but I'm being watched. So I'll have to go all-out to make this believable. _Kakashi just nodded before he said, "I thought you weren't dead. And you have back-up."

Behind Zabuza, the masked hunter-nin came out along with two other ninja, who were hooded. "Relax," Zabuza said. "They want the blonde one who is a bit late, I see. You still have those other brats I see. And the black-haired one is still trembling; how pitiful."

"I'm trembling," Sasuke looked up, "in excitement." Around them, five Zabuza's appeared; his infamous Water Clone Jutsu. Even without his Sharingan, Sasuke had memorized all of their positions and in a flash, used his kunai to cut through each of them. As the water fell to the floor, Zabuza chuckled, "So the brat's improved, eh? I think you have rival, Haku."

"So it seems," Haku said, looking at Sasuke. _While a water clone only has a tenth of the original's chakra, _Haku thought. _He disposed of four of them with ease. _Haku then charged at Sasuke, using his speed to try to overpower Sasuke. Everybody's eye widened when Sasuke intercepted Haku's senbon with his kunai, smiling. "Sorry," he said. "But compared to Naruto, you're incredibly slow!" Zabuza's eyes widened, _The brat has improved a lot... and to say Haku moves slow compared to that blonde._

The other two ninja were smiling in anticipation. The Uchiha had just said that Haku was slow compared to Uzumaki. How long would it be until he got there? "I would challenge your absent teammate to a race," Haku said. "No one has ever called me slow. But since you're so used to fighting him, this might be a challenge to me after all."

"Oh it'll be challenge, alright," Sasuke said as he and Haku exchanged a series of blows. "You know," Haku said. "I have the advantage right now."

"How's that?" Sasuke asked.

"One," Haku explained. "We are surrounded by water and I have a lot of techniques with this. And two, one of your hands is occupied so you can only defend yourself with one free hand." Having said that, he began used his left hand and went through several hand-seals, shocking Sasuke and Kakashi. _What, _the Copy Ninja thought. _Hand-seals with only a hand; I haven't seen that before._

"**Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death,**" Haku said, finishing his hand-signs. The water around them rose and took the shape of needles. Sasuke closed his eyes and began to channel chakra into his feet. _Remember the training, _he thought. Haku backed out as the needles all flew towards Sasuke.

Using his feet, Sasuke dashed to the side, dodging all of the needles. Then, in a blue blur, he appeared in front of Haku, kicking him in the face. Haku went flying to Zabuza's feet, who just laughed. "Haku," he said. "I know you don't like killing your opponents but you need to use _that _jusu or you won't defeat him."

Haku nodded hesitantly. He got up before walking towards Sasuke. "I'm sorry," he said to the confused Uchiha. Then, he released a large amount of chakra. _He's releasing a lot of chakra, _Kakashi noted. _Just what is he planning to do? _Then, behind Sasuke, a mirror appeared. "What is that?" Sakura asked Kakashi, who didn't reply.

Around the middle of the bridge, a circular dome of glass mirrors appeared. "**Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals,**" Haku said before going inside a mirror. Then, all of the mirrors reflected him and assumed the image of Haku. "With this," he said to the confused Sasuke, "you will not be able to match my speed."

Kakashi moved towards the mirror but Zabuza intercepted him. "No, Kakashi," he said. "Your battle is with me, remember?" Kakashi nodded, his eye replaying a message to Zabuza. "He won't kill Sasuke, right?" Kakashi whispered to Zabuza, who simply nodded. "But the brat will experience a lot of pain," Zabuza said, causing Kakashi to narrow his eyebrow.

Then, Haku began assaulting Sasuke throwing senbon. Due to the mirrors, Sasuke felt himself getting cut by senbon from all direction. In a minute, he fell to the floor, bleeding. "I'm sorry," Haku repeated. Then, the strangest thing happened. The two hooded ninja then threw a kunai at a space behind them. There was puff of smoke and Naruto rolled out of the way of the kunai.

_How did they know? _Naruto thought, looking at the hooded ninja who were now facing him. "Naruto Uzumaki," one of them said. "We've been waiting for you for a long time!" Haku was watching the blonde, hoping he was strong enough to take on the mysterious ninja.

"Who are you guys?" Naruto asked the two. "I don't think we've met before so to what do I owe this pleasure?" They looked at each other before nodding. In a flash, their hoods and disguise was torn away to reveal themselves; both of them wore a black coat with red clouds. One of them had blue skin with gills on his cheek. He had a bandaged sword on his back. "YOU," Zabuza yelled, pointing at him. The other one was a lady with blue hair and yellow eyes. _I've seen her before, _Naruto thought. _Nagato showed me her photo!_

"Hey," Naruto said, breaking the silence. "Are you Konan?"

Konan's eyes had a mad glint in them. "Yes," she licked her lips. "I am. How did you know that?"

"Nagato told me," Naruto said, looking at her. At that name, Konan's body was enveloped in paper. "Don't you dare say his name!" Konan yelled. "I'm going to destroy you, Naruto Uzumaki, for taking away my best friend."

"What do you mean?" Naruto was confused.

"You idiot," she screeched. "If he hadn't gotten that mission, then he'd still be alived. And you're the reason why he isn't here. I'll kill you." She disappeared from all of their sight, shocking Kakashi. _That intense speed, _he thought. _It's definitely S-rank; Naruto can't survive that! _To his surprise, Naruto raised his hand and blocked Konan, who re-appeared.

Naruto opened his closed eyes, showing everybody the Rinnegan. "This kid," Zabuza and Kisame gasped. "He has _the _Rinnegan," Zabuza said. "How is that possible?" Kisame yelled. "Only Nagato had those eyes. You can't possibly have them," Konan yelled, her chakra flaring.

Naruto knew that Konan would probably get madder if he told her the truth. "I've awakened them," he shrugged. "Now, what exactly do you two want?" Konan backed away from Naruto. "I want to kill you," she yelled. "And get that demon inside you." Kisame nodded, smirking evilly at Naruto. _Shit, _Naruto cursed. _I have two S-rank ninja wanting to kill me and get the Kyuubi. _"Are you two from Akatsuki?" Naruto asked them, causing them to nod.

"Great," he muttered. They were obviously not as strong as Nagato but neither was he. Naruto was nearly as strong as Kakashi without his Sharingan and it was obvious these guys were at least as strong as Zabuza. Kisame's sword unwrapped itself around the top, some grey thorns to stick out. Half of Konan's body became paper.

Sasuke got up slowly. "Naruto," he yelled, catching everybody's attention. "You better not die here; we still have to settle our rivalry." The blonde simply nodded before turning his well-endowed eyes at his opponents. "This will be easy," Kisame laughed. "**Water Style: Wild Water Wave.**" He let out a wave of water, which Naruto simply stood up. "Is that it?" Naruto mocked.

"**Water Style: Five Feeding Sharks,**" Kisame put his hand on the water surface. Then, five sharks shot towards Naruto, their mouths open. Raising his hand, Naruto absorbed the water sharks, smiling at the shocked Konan and surprised Kisame. "**Blocking Technique Absorption Seal,**" Naruto said to the two S-rank Akatsuki ninja. "You guys need to try harder against the holder of the Rinnegan."

Kisame charged at Naruto, skating across the water. He ripped through Naruto's body, causing Sakura and Kakashi to yell his name. Then, Naruto disappeared in a poof. _A shadow clone, _Kisame realized. The kid was more skilled than he had thought possible. "**Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains,**" Naruto yelled from the side of the bridge. Kisame smiled before yelling, "**Water Style: Wild Water Wave.**"

The two techniques canceled each other out and Naruto appeared onto the soaked ground. He quickly took out his kunai and blocked a swing from Kisame. Turning, he used his Rinnegan to dodge a kick from the Tailess Tailed Beast. "Nice reflexes," Kisame said, grinning. Fighting Naruto was like fighting Itachi.

"**Earth Style: Earth Wall,**" Naruto yelled, causing a wall of earth to rise up. Kisame's sword crashed into the wall, causing him to yell in rage. _He figured out the element I'm weak to, _Kisame realized. "Up here," Naruto said, causing Kisame to look up. He ducked Naruto's kick before punching the blonde in the face, causing him to disappear in smoke. _Another shadow clone, _Kisame realized.

"**Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder,**" Naruto said, paralyzing Kisame. While not as effective as earth, lightning was the second-best element against water. "Curse you, Uzumaki," Kisame glared at the said blonde, who just smirked. "**Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains,**" Naruto said and the gust of wind slammed into the paralyzed Kisame, sending him flying back.

Naruto turned and blocked Konan's kick. "These eyes can see you, Konan-chan," Naruto mocked, causing Konan to glare at him. "You'll never be able to use them like Nagato did," she kicked at him incredibly fast, which he dodged. "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet,**" he breathed a large stream of fire at Konan. Kisame appeared in front of her and used his water style to deflected the attack.

Naruto backed away from them. _At this rate, _he thought. _They'll kill me; both of them are too much to handle. _As Kisame came at Naruto, he dodged out of the way easily and kicked the man in the face, sending him back. "**Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains,**" he yelled as the gust of wind slammed into Kisame, sending him tumbling back.

Konan came at Naruto with killing intent. Using his Rinnegan, Naruto was able to dodge most of Konan's blows when she used ninjutsu. "**Paper Ocean Jutsu,**" she yelled but Naruto had already taken her and used his speed to get away from the bridge. There was a large explosion in the forest, scaring the remaining ninja except Kisame, who dashed off to join them.

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Naruto slumped to the ground as Konan stood over him. She grabbed his throat and placed her knee on his gut, pushing. He coughed up blood and Konan removed her knee. "I've wanted to do this for so long," she yelled as she raised a kunai. Then, some trees fell, and Kisame grabbed her hand. "Remember," he said. "If you kill him then the Kyuubi dies with him. Our job is to take him to Madara so the sealing can happen."

"Can I dig out his eyes?" Konan asked Kisame, itching to take out the Rinnegan. Kisame just smirked before nodding his head off. _Shit, _Naruto cursed. _KYUUBI, GIVE ME SOME CHAKRA YOU FAT FOX! _Then, the two ninja were pushed back as red chakra surrounded Naruto. "Thank god," the blonde stood up slowly. "I would have died if I didn't have this."

The entire forest began glowing as Naruto has covered in red chakra. Wisps of chakra began flowing outwards, batting down trees, and a wind began to blow. The earth began shaking as the corrosive chakra acted upon it. The two ninja were shocked as they saw Naruto's muscles bulk up and his hair stood up. Still, he didn't have any of the Kyuubi's traits so he was in control.

Kisame just laughed. "If you think a little boost from your Bijuu is going to help," his sword unwrapped a bit more, "you're sadly mistaken. We're S-rank nin; a powered up jinchuuriki is nothing compared to our skill and experience." Naruto smirked before disappearing from sight. As Kisame turned, he was kicked in the face for the second time by Naruto. Konan tried to use some jutsu but Naruto had already wounded his arms around her.

"W-what are you doing?" She said to the blonde, who just smirked. "Feeling a bit drained?" he asked her and Konan could feel her chakra getting drained. _The Preta Path ability, _she realized. Kisame stood up and charged at the two before he was stopped by Naruto's summon. _That dog, _Konan realized as she saw the self-multiplying dog face Kisame.

"Oh no you don't," Naruto said, covering Konan's mouth. "You're going to lose all of your chakra, you mad woman." With only two minutes to go, Naruto felt his own chakra beginning to return to him. _So the Kyuubi did save my life, _thought Naruto. Once enough chakra from Konan was absorbed, Naruto let the red chakra around him disappear.

"Mark my words, Uzumaki," the helpless Konan glared at Naruto. "We will meet again soon and the next time, I will kill you." Naruto just nodded wondering how long it would take before the woman was out of chakra. To answer his question, a minute later, Konan dropped to the floor. Letting out a breath of relief, Naruto turned to see that Kisame was surrounded by twelve angry mutts.

He chuckled. "Hey, Kisame," Naruto called to the blue man. "What do you want?" Kisame yelled, dodging an attack from a mutt. "Here's my original jutsu: **Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!**" Then, a repeat of what happened to Mizuki occured and Kisame was pummeled by two hundred Narutos and twelve mutts, leaving him a bloody mess on the floor.

As Naruto looked at them, he noticed that Kisame and Konan had changed to two different women. "Wait," Naruto crouched as he surveyed them. _Could this be the Shapeshifting Jutsu? Nagato told me about it but it's a jutsu which can only be done by the Rinnegan's Outer Path ability, _the blonde thought. _How did Madara manage to do this jutsu? It's too bad Nagato left otherwise I would have asked him. _Dragging them, Naruto walked out of the forest to re-join his teammates.

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Sasuke had activated his Sharingan against Haku, allowing him to see all of the senbon. Despite having a two tomoe Sharingan, he managed to dodge most of Haku's moves. "**Earth Style: Earth Rampart,**" Sasuke yelled, blocking off Haku's attacks from one side. "That won't help you," Haku called from the side, flicking a senbon.

Sasuke's Sharingan flared and he dodged the senbon. "You have the Sharingan, I see," Haku said. "Your reflexes have enhanced since the beginning of this fight. Then, I will have to take it up a notch." Having said that, Haku began to throw senbon even quicker than before although Sasuke still managed to dodge or block most of them. "I don't have time for this," Sasuke said, wanting to help Naruto. "**Wind Style: Divine Wind.**" All of the incoming senbon were reflected back at the mirrors.

"Hey, Haku," Sasuke said behind Haku, who was switching mirrors. He quickly turned but Sasuke had already disappeared. "**Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu,**" Sasuke yelled, bellowing a dragon-shaped wave of fire at Haku. _He'll never catch me, _thought Haku, moving away to find he couldn't. _Darn, he surrounded me with wires, _Haku realized. Then, the wave of fire caught on the wires, running along them, before burning Haku up.

"Heads up: **Wind Style: Divine Wind,**" Sasuke yelled, causing Haku's eyes to widen. _Wind on this type of fire is even worse, _Haku thought, cutting through the burned wires with ease. He tried to move away but with his burns and loss of chakra, most of the wind caught on the fire. Haku yelled before collapsing onto the floor.

Sasuke panted, tired from having spent so much chakra. While he was an Uchiha, he had used his Sharingan, two wind jutsus, a fire jutsu, and an earth jutsu. Now he could feel chakra exhaustion on him. _Naruto probably never feels this, _Sasuke thought about his friend's chakra reserves. And the other problem was that he was bleeding all over from getting assaulted by senbon at the beginning of the fight.

Then, his eyes detected a sharp sting and Sasuke turned to see red chakra coming out of the forest. The ground began to tremor lightly and several trees were uprooted. "I-Is this N-naruto?" Sasuke asked. The dobe had been fighting against two elite ninja and while Sasuke was tired here, Naruto was releasing large waves of red chakra.

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Kakashi raised his forehead protector and opened his left eye, showing the Sharingan. He wanted to deal with Zabuza quickly so he could help Naruto. There was no way his student could deal with _two S-rank _ninja even with the Rinnegan, especially if their intent is to capture the Kyuubi. "Hiding in Mist Jutsu," Zabuza said and the fog thickened so much that Kakashi could only see blue.

"So you managed to completely deal with my Sharingan," Kakashi said. "That's nice but your future holds nothing but pain."

Zabuza chuckled from somewhere. "I've got your Sharingan figured," he said. "In our last battle, Haku was analyzing your Sharingan and developed a counter-attack. First you have the Eye of Insight with which the Sharingan gives colour to chakra to differentiate and gives perception to you. Then, you have the Eye of Hypnotism with which you can copy any user to the slighest detail and even confuse them with the hypnotic stare of the Sharingan."

Kakashi clapped his hands. "So you figured out that much? But if the mist is this thick then how are you going to get me?"

Zabuza laughed. "Have you forgotten who I am, Kakashi? I'm Zabuza Momochi; the master of the Silent Killing and the Demon of the Mist. I don't need to use my eyes to get you; I can track you using just sound if I have to." Having said that, the entire place became silent. Kakashi could hear Sasuke's battle had finished but he heard Naruto clearly.

He could already sense the chakra comin out of the forest and the ground beginning to tremble. Sharp blasts of wind rotated around the bridge and the forest. _Naruto, _Kakashi thought, worried. _This is the Nine-Tails' chakra. Could it be... is the seal broken? _But Kakashi did not sense any killing intent or negative emotions causing him to reach the conclusion that the seal was still intact. _I need to finish up here, _Kakashi realized.

"Hey, Zabuza," Kakashi prompted. "We're both busy men so how about we end us?"

"True, Kakashi," Zabuza said. "Let's end this quickly."

Zabuza came out of the mist and slashed at Kakashi. The white-haired jonin moved back but was cut across the chest, drawing blood. Zabuza treated back into the mist but Kakashi took a scroll and put the blood across it. Then, he made some hand seals. _Summoning Jutsu, _Kakashi thought, bringing out his ninken pack. Then quickly located Zabuza and held him down. Playing on his part, Zabuza pretended to have been taken down.

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Naruto came out of the forest, dragging the two bodies, and saw that Sasuke and Kakashi had finished their battles. "Naruto," Kakashi yelled before moving towards the blonde. "You used the Nine-Tails' chakra I see; how did you beat two S-rank nin though?"

"Well," Naruto said, throwing the bodies to the ground. "These weren't the actual ninja; Akatsuki used two other people before using the Shapeshifting Jutsu to make them near identical to Kisame and Konan. I think they must not have put all of their chakra otherwise I would stand no chance against them."

"Dobe," Sasuke greeted, walking slowly towards them. "So you finished your battle and it turns out they weren't actual S-rank ninja, eh?" Naruto nodded, causing Sasuke to breath out. "For a moment, I would have thought you actually defeated them."

"Naruto," Kakashi looked at the blonde. "When we go back to Konoha, you need to tell the Hokage how you knew one of these members and who Nagato is?" Naruto nodded before they heard a shout at the end of the bridge. They turned to see that Gatou was there with a large gang of thugs.

"So," the fat little man yelled. "Looks like you took care of all of them. Well, I was planning on killing them anyways; missing ninja are always so expensive and don't even get to Akatsuki... well, it looks like Zabuza was a baby demon, after all. And his stupid apprentice who almost broke my hand."

To his surprise, Zabuza and Haku stood up. "You were saying, Gatou," he growled at the sweating man. "You see, I discovered your plot a few days ago with their help and I have to say; I don't think I'll leave you alive after this one."

"Indeed," Haku said. "It will be a pleasure to fight alongside Master Zabuza and destroy Gatou; I never liked him anyways. And this time, more than an arm will break." They charged at the thugs, who were promised double money by Gatou. Unfortunately, the Demon of the Mist and the Ice-Style-user easily disposed of all of the thugs and Zabuza tore out Gatou's heart to kill the man.

"Thanks, kid," Zabuza said to Naruto later. "You've helped us a lot and we should be on our way now."

"No way," Naruto said, surprising them. "You can come to Konoha with us. It's a wonderful place and Haku will not be hunted for his Kekkei Genkai there; you guys can become Konoha ninja." While Zabuza and Haku thought that was a good idea, Kakashi raised the issue: "But how will they get the Kiri hunter ninja off their trail?"

Naruto thought for a moment before smiling. "Do you guys see the bodies there?" The two of them nodded, unsure what Naruto had in mind. "The guy has a similar haircut to Zabuza right; we can just dress him and Haku can get the cash for the death of Zabuza Momochi at the local bounty office. Then, you guys can come to Konoha with us and become shinobi that don't need to hide anymore."

Zabuza laughed freely for the first time. "You're smart, kid," he said to Naruto. "If you want, I can train you in the art of kenjutsu if your Hokage accepts me. But yeah, we can get those Hunter-nin off our tracks and Haku will even get a nice reward. But what happens to my Kubikiri Houchou?"

"Doesn't a man like Zabuza Momochi have a lot of hideouts?" Naruto asked, smiling. "Haku can just say that she fought Zabuza without his sword or something."

"Not a good idea," Zabuza shook his head. "The Hunter-nin know that I don't part with my sword at all and they'll get suspicious if they see that Haku has the corpse without the sword."

"I have an idea," Sasuke spoke up. "If we can get the Kubikiri Houchou to stay here at the Land of the Waves for a while, then Zabuza can come later on and take it; a few months from now people will just pass it off as a local robbery since the sword is sought after by many."

"That's a good idea," Zabuza agreed. "While I don't like it, I can easily chase after any guy who would steal it but I might just find it here. It's better than the alternative so alright, fine! Get that Tazuna to say he wants the sword to be buried here."

The three Leaf ninja nodded before they got Zabuza's clothes and dressed the dead body in them. Indeed, it looked like Zabuza had just died in front of them. To make sure nobody saw him without clothes, Zabuza had gone into the forest to take off his clothes and used a Transformation Jutsu. "Kakashi," he warned the one-eyed jonin. "Don't you dare raise that headband!" Said-jonin just nodded, giggling slightly. Sasuke and Naruto got the message after a glare from Zabuza. Besides, they were straight.

After that, Zabuza and Haku left; Zabuza went to a hideout while Haku gathered up the fake Zabuza to go to the local bounty office to get the money on his head. Meanwhile, Tazuna and the Land of Waves had buried the Kubikiri Houchou on a cliff, overlooking the sea. Kakashi would later tell Zabuza the exact location.

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A couple of days later, it was time to part ways. Inari had changed; he had reverted back into the happy child and saw Naruto as an elder brother. He had become a part of the family just like Kaiza. Sasuke and Naruto had gotten closer and while Sasuke still felt jealous at Naruto's strength, he knew that his friendship with the blonde would get him stronger.

Kakashi was pleased since the team was functioning perfectly. While she still did it a lot, Sakura had decided to get stronger so Sasuke would be impressed by her. Naruto knew that the Akatsuki would be on the move after this and made it a priority to master the Rinnegan and get greater control over the Nine-Tails if possible.

"Inari," Naruto called when they were about to go. "Don't forget: if you want to protect something, use both arms and never give up so you can live without regret. I'll try to visit and make sure you visit Konoha once; I would love to show you around."

He smiled, tears flowing. "Thanks... for everything, Nii-san." After that, the group left the Land of Waves, taking the same path they had taken to come. Around half an hour after leaving, they were met by Zabuza and Haku, who had gotten some new clothes. Apparently Haku had gotten around 20 million ryo from handing in Zabuza.

Naruto would make sure that after Zabuza retrieved his Kubikiri Bouchou, he taught the blonde kenjutsu and some water style jutsu. It would be nice to have a few teachers teaching him, to make up for his lack of education at the Academy.

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By late noon, the group arrived at the gates of Konoha. While Zabuza and Haku still felt a bit nervous, Naruto and Kakashi checked in and put Zabuza and Haku as guests. They went inside and tried their best not to get noticed on the way to the Hokage's Office.

To say the Hokage was shocked was an understatement. "You guys took down Gatou and some Akatsuki officials?" he then saw Zabuza and Haku. "You even managed to fake the death of Zabuza Momochi and are thinking of him becoming a Konoha ninja?"

Naruto nodded. "It was actually my idea, jiji," the blonde piped up. "Zabuza isn't really a bad guy and has been on the run for a long time. He's promised that he wouldn't do anything and wants Haku here to lead a life where he won't be feared for his bloodline."

The Hokage nodded. "Well," he puffed. "They will be on probation and watched by ANBU for two weeks before they are aloud to start normal B-rank missions. They will only be given A-rank missions after a month or so depending on their progress with the B-ranks. Take these headbands with you." Zabuza and Haku took off their headbands and put on their new Leaf ones.

"All of you are dismissed except Naruto and Kakashi," Sarutobi said and everybody except the said-people left the room. "Naruto," Sarutobi said. "How do you know about the Akatsuki and who is this Nagato person?" Naruto nodded and asked that the Hokage cast some seals for privacy, which the elderly man did.

Naruto explained everything he knew; how he had met Nagato, how he had the Rinnegan, what happened during the night the Nine-Tails attacked, about Madara Uchiha, and finally what his fellow Uzumaki had told him about the Akatsuki and Konan.

Sarutobi and Kakashi listened patiently. "I see," Sarutobi said. "A lot makes sense to me now; Naruto, make sure you don't reveal this to anybody. This is a S-rank secret as of now and if anybody knows, there will be consequences to pay, Naruto." Credit to him, Naruto nodded without getting fazed by the Sandaime's killer intent, impressing the old man. _He's gotten a lot stronger, _Sarutobi noted. "Alright," he said. "You can leave now, Naruto."

"Kakashi," Sarutobi said after Naruto had left. "Describe to me what happened when Naruto released the Nine-Tails' power." Kakashi said everything to Sarutobi; how the earth began trembling, wind came in bursts, and trees of the forest were uprooted. While the Sandaime was surprised, he was even more astounded to hear that Naruto had not displayed any animalistic nature.

"I mean," Kakashi said. "I didn't actually see the fight but I didn't sense any negative emotions or hatred coming from the chakra. It was just red chakra and nothing else."

"I see," Sarutobi said. "This means that Naruto tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra willingly and thus, he did not assume any aggressive characteristics. Interesting... do you think Zabuza and his apprentice are being honest that they want to turn a new leaf?"

Kakashi nodded. "They have changed upon meeting Naruto," he explained. "And I can also imagine that they are tired of being hunted by Hunter-nin... they could also teach Naruto some new skills so I'm not one to complain. Especially since the Chunin Exams are coming up."

"But how will Zabuza teach if his blade is back at Wave?" Sarutobi predicted that they had something planned. Kakashi then spent the next minute telling Sarutobi about what Zabuza planned to do and how it could be beneficial. Sighing, Sarutobi said, "I knew he would have something in mind like this; thus, I made his probation only two weeks whereas it should have been a month."

Sarutobi finally asked Kakashi about Sasuke's development to which Kakashi mentioned that the boy had already unlocked the second stage of his Sharingan and had developed a friendly rivalry with Naruto, which pleased the Sandaime immensely. "Very well," he said. "You are dismissed, Kakashi." The one-eyed jonin nodded before leaving. Sarutobi looked at the setting sun thinking about the day and the upcoming Chunin Exams.


	8. Chapter 8

It's here, guys! The Chunin Exams! Oh and since Naruto has the Rinnegan, I'm gonna give him some nature bloodlines like the ones that were there in Naruto Shippuden Movie 3: Inheritors of the Will of Fire. Those ones do not have two elements and are natural so Naruto learns them. Well, here, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 8: **_Chunin Exams - The Written Test_

Obito looked at the assembled Akatsuki members. "Well," he said. "As you know, Konan and Kisame's copies have failed to capture the Kyuubi. But since Itachi has regained his health, I will order him to aid the two by putting a percentage of your power into the Shapeshifting Technique since the Chunin Exams are at hand."

"All this just for the Kyuubi?" Sasori grumbled. "Shouldn't we think about capturing Shukaku first?"

Obito just laughed. "Shukaku, Nibi, and the Kyuubi are all going to participate in the Chunin Exams," his right and only-visible eye glared at them. "Last time Konan and Kisame put only 40 percent of their chakra so this time, they need to put more."

Itachi stood up. "Madara," he said. "How do we get inside the Hidden Leaf?"

Obito showed him their fake passports and Team ID. "You will be disguised as Hidden Grass ninja," the fake Madara explained. "Itachi, from now on you're known as Hiroko, Konan, you're known as Asuka, while Kisame, you're known as Fuka."

All of them donated around 50 percent of their chakra to the living sacrifices while Obito took off his mask and used his left eye to do the Shapeshifting Technique. Since he didn't have a Rinnegan, using a Sharingan would make the eye lose its light similar to Izanagi and Izanami. As he went blind, Obito tore out his left eye and crushed it.

All of the Akatsuki members were impressed at 'Madara's' durability. Since Obito had so many Sharingan, he could easily replace his lost eye with another one quite soon. "Now head out," he yelled and the three copies nodded and left the base.

Obito went to his chambers. "I'd love to see the look on Orochimaru's face," he said, "when he realizes that there are Akatsuki members participating in this tournament. Maybe his plans will be ruined. I couldn't care as long as those Bijuu are taken to me."

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Naruto slurped up his ramen bowl. It had been a few days since Team 7 had come back from the Land of Waves with Haku and Zabuza, who were being watched by ANBU at all times. They mostly never left their compound so there was nothing to worry about. He could tell that something big was about to happen since everybody on the street seemed to be talking about some exams. _Must be for chunin or jonin, _Naruto dismissed.

After eating his ramen, he went to the weapon's store. Zabuza had told him that he would teach the blonde kenjutsu once Sarutobi told his ANBU to stop keeping watch. So he would already buy a sturdy sword and keep it ready for his upcoming lessons in a couple of weeks. A girl, who had her hair in buns, and wore a pink shirt with green pants. Naruto's eyes widened at the muscles on her hands. _Man, _he thought. _This girl is better toned than me._

"Hey," she said, looking at Naruto. "How can I help you?"

"Well," Naruto said. "I need a sword that fits me since I'm going to have a teacher teaching me kenjutsu."

"Okay," she shrugged. "My name is Tenten; come on, I'll show you our special sword collection." Tenten led Naruto to the side of the store, showing him some really cool swords but they were too expensive. While the Land of Waves had been an A-rank mission and Naruto had gotten a cool million, the swords were double or treble that price so Naruto just shook his head.

Tenten showed him some other swords before leaving to attend the other customers. Naruto saw a sword he liked; it was a black katana with a blood-red hilt. It was expensive but also very sturdy so Naruto decided he would buy it. "This one," he said to Tenten. "It looks pretty good. Anything I should know about it?"

"It's a pretty good sword," Tenten took the cash and gave him the change. "Are you a genin or chunin?"

"Genin," Naruto answered. "I'm in Team 7 and sensei's Kakashi Hatake."

"Oh really," Tenten said, smiling. "Our senseis are rivals; I'm in Team 9 and sensei's Might Guy."

"Well, see ya," Naruto said, waving. He put the sword on his back, strapping it. "I'll see you at the Chunin Exams," Tenten said before going to other customers. _Chunin Exams? _Naruto thought. _Those are the exams everybody's talking about!_

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Naruto missed Nagato; the Uzumaki would be there to console Naruto or advise him on anything. Now, he wasn't there anymore. Naruto shook his head and picked up one of the scrolls. Taking a deep breath, he unscrolled it and found an introductory letter from Nagato.

_Dear Naruto,_

_I have left you with three scrolls; the first one will teach you the Naraka, Deva, Asura Paths. The second scroll will teach you some Kekkei Genkai although they are completely independent and are not a result of two elements combining. The third scroll will teach you about the forbidden jutsus of the Outer Path BUT you can only learn it after you have mastered the first Six Paths. You must train a lot to master these and know that I am always looking over you._

_Your uncle and sensei,_

_Nagato Uzumaki._

Naruto put down the letter and began to look at the contents of the scroll. The Naraka Path allowed the user to summon the King of Hell for two purposes: interrogation and restoration. Once they have spoken, the King of Hell would pull out the life force of the person through their tongue. If they were lying, then the King of Hell would take the tongue and kill them but if they were telling the truth, the creature would spare them.

If an injured person went inside the mouth of the King of Hell, then their injuries could be healed by the Naraka Path. But this could exhaust the Rinnegan user a lot if used a lot and the restoration process would take longer after continued usage.

The Deva Path's abilities were probably the most powerful out of the Six Paths; with Shinra Tensei, you could repel anything except those with a lot of mass or dense chakra such as transformed jinchuuriki and/or Bijuu. With Bansho Ten'nin, you could attract anything except those previous exceptions.

There was a third ability; the Chibaku Tensei. Using the Deva Path, you would release a black ball of chakra into the sky and it would have enough gravitational power to attract many rocks from the ground. This was the technique the Sage of the Six Paths used to seal up the Juubi's body and make the moon.

The Asura Path was probably the hardest to do; it involved adding mechanical alterations to your body. There were some blueprints of parts and you could even shoot missiles from parts of your body or grenades. A large sword-like tail could be added to the body to have an extra limb in combat. Another advantage was that the King of Hell found the Asura Path easier to repair due to its modifications than other organisms.

Naruto decided that the Asura and Deva Paths would be impossible to learn before the Chunin Exams so he could master the Naraka Path first. He already knew the Animal, Preta, and Human Paths quite well and it would be nice to improve his torturing/information-gathering skills. He activated his Rinnegan and put his hands on the floor, focusing hard.

Somewhere down in the earth, there was hell and Naruto tried to use his enormous chakra to get the King of Hell's attention. Then, he opened his eyes and saw that a massive head was in front of him. It had an open mouth and the Rinnegan in its eyes. Naruto quickly made a series of shadow clones and began practicing the Naraka Path on them.

After a couple of hours or that's what it seemed like, Naruto dropped onto the ground, feeling exhausted. It would take a few minutes before his chakra was back to normal. He had nearly mastered the interrogation part of the Naraka Path although he was still trying to get the restoration part. Once his chakra came back, Naruto spent a bit longer on it before putting the first scroll aside and taking the second one.

He opened it see a few Kekkei Genkai written on it and several notes by Nagato on how to use it. The bloodlines were: Dark Style, Steel Style, Swift Style, Explosion Style and Crystal Style. Naruto spent the next few hours working on these Kekkei Genkai, which he found were quite hard to use even with the Rinnegan.

The Swift Style made people extremely fast and nearly unavoidable. The Steel Style made people invulnerable to regular swords and even some chakra-enhanced blades. The Dark Style was used to absorb the opponent's chakra and use it against them using shadows, shades, and blue flames. The Explosion Style used explosive chakra released in blasts to overpower the enemy. The Crystal Style allowed you to make crystals and control crystalline objects.

Despite his progress, Naruto only managed to do the Dark and Explosion Styles as the others were still too hard. Since Naruto already had some experience with the Blocking Technique Absorption Seal of the Preta Path, he found the Dark Style easier to use than the others.

And due to the little experience he had with the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto could somewhat handle the Explosion Style and soon became quite good at it as well. The Steel Style required immense concentration, which Naruto didn't have, while the Swift Style began to tear his leg muscles if he moved at that type of speed. The Crystal Style needed strong chakra control which he needed to improve. Since he was in his mind, his injuries healed up in a few minutes. Finishing up, he left the garden.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well," Sarutobi puffed. "As you know, the Chunin Exams are here. This is an oppurtunity for the genin to ascend to the next level. There are a few candidates that come to my mind now but this will let us see just who is the best of the best here."

All of the assembled jonin and chunin nodded. Kakashi thought about Naruto and Sasuke while the other jonin thought about members of their own team. "And," Sarutobi continued. "This time, all of the five Elemental Nations are participating in the Chunin Exams so you can expect a lot of teams this year. There will be a lot of powerful adversaries. Alright, it is time we chose the candidates for the Chunin Exams."

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma stood forward. Sarutobi looked at Kakashi to begin. "I lead Team 7," Kakashi said. "I, Kakashi Hatake, nominate Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno to take the Chunin Exams." A lot of people gasped, especially Iruka.

"I lead Team 8," Kurenai stated. "I, Kurenai Yuhi, nominate Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame to take the Chunin Exams." Again, a lot of people gasped as there were two rookie teams then.

"I lead Team 10," Asuma stated. "I, Asuma Sarutobi, nominate Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi to take the Chunin Exams." This time, the entire room began to talk since all three of the newly-established genin teams were taking part.

"Wait a minute," Iruka said. "Hokage-sama, all of these 9 genin were my students at the Academy. I know how good they are, and they are, but it's far too soon for them to take these exams. If they take the Chunin Exams now, then they will be destroyed in the beginning. And Konoha's name will be ruined if that were to happen."

Kakashi faced Iruka. "Iruka," he said. "I was six years younger than Naruto is now when I became chunin."

"NARUTO IS NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Iruka yelled and everybody realized he was actually only concerned about Naruto. "Are you trying to destroy him, Kakashi?"

"A little pain is good for health," Kakashi mocked, sarcastically. "W-what?" Iruka said, confused. "Kakashi, stop it," Kurenai said, "you've said enough." Kakashi just shook his head, "On the contrary, Kurenai, Iruka needs to realize that they're not his students anymore, they're our soldiers."

"And besides," he said. "Naruto is already as strong as a chunin so he can take these exams with no problem." Everybody turned at that and loud whispers began across the room. Sarutobi himself was surprised since he had never heard Kakashi say something with this much certainity. "Iruka," Sarutobi said. "You've made your point; after hearing this, I think a preliminary test is in order to see if they are truly ready."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto woke up and ate some fruits and a sandwich. He took a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes before going out to meet his team at the bridge. As he got there, Naruto could see that Sasuke had almost died trying to stay with Sakura, who had no doubt asked for a date. "Hey guys," Naruto greeted causing them to greet him back. They had changed in so many ways.

"How's the Sharingan?" Naruto asked, settling beside Sasuke. "Good," Sasuke replied, smirking. "I'm close to getting the full Sharingan... I can feel it, especially after that battle with Haku."

"You did good," Naruto said. "I was surprised to hear that you beat that chunin using your jutsu and speed. I was impressed when I heard that."

"You beat two under-powered S-rank ninja," Sasuke replied. "That's quite impressive as well so don't give me all the credit. I wonder what Kakashi wants to discuss with us, though."

Then, the white-haired jonin appeared. "Hello, everyone," he greeted cheerfully. "Sorry I'm late; I got lost on the road of life." This earned him a shout from the three genin, who had improved an eternity since the Academy. "This is a bit sudden," Kakashi said. "But I recommended all three of you for the Chunin Exams this year; these are the application forms."

"You finally told us, huh?" Naruto took his form while Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "This is a famous topic in the village right now," Naruto explained. "Some other genin also told me that their sensei recommended them as well for the annual Chunin Exams."

"I see," Kakashi nodded, impressed that Naruto had been keeping his ears open. _He's almost as strong as a jonin like me, _the one-eyed jonin thought, proud of his sensei's son. "But you're not required to come," Kakashi said. "If you don't want to, then you don't have to. I've only just recommended you guys, okay?" They nodded and Kakashi waved, giving them the day off. Sasuke immediately said bye to Naruto and left to train.

Naruto talked with Sakura for a while getting along nicely with her. Then, he heard something behind them. Naruto turned to see a box of sand paper. "Konohamaru," Naruto said. "I'm not stupid you know!" The grandson came out, sheepishly looking at Naruto. Then, he saw Sakura and grinned perversely at Naruto. "So is ths your girlfriend boss?"

Sakura glared at Konohamaru and whacked him on the head. "Ah," he yelled in pain. "Just what kind of girlfriend are you?!" He ran away from Sakura, who began chasing him. Naruto followed them, amused. Then, Konohamaru bumped into someone, causing them to fall onto the floor.

They all looked up to see a guy with purple markings and a black fur. He looked at Konohamaru before raising him by the scarf. "Hey kid," the guy yelled. "Say sorry for that; you ought to watch where you're going, punk!" Konohamaru could feel the man's knuckles digging into his neck. "Put me down," the kid muttered, causing the guy to hold him harder.

"Hey, you," a voice came out behind Sakura. They turned to see Naruto walk through, hands in pocket. "Put him down before you cause an international accident; he's the grandson of the Hokage." As soon as he said that, the guy let go of Konohamaru, who came over to their side. "H-he's the grandson of the H-hokage," the guy said, panicked.

Naruto just nodded and smirked. "You know you're lucky nothing happened," the blonde said to the guy. "If the Hokage knew about this, you would probably get kicked out despite the Chunin Exams."

"Kankurou, you almost got us doomed," the blonde girl next to him said. "I get it, Temari," Kankurou said to the girl. Then, a pebble hit Kankurou's hand causing the cloaked guy to look up. Sasuke was perched on a branch, pebble in hand. "Allow me to introduce you," Naruto pointed, "to my comrade, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Oh, man," Kankurou said. "It's guys like these that I hate; all talk and no action." He was about to take off the bandaged thing on his back when a voice came from behind Sasuke, "Kankurou, you're an embarassment to our village; stand down."

Sasuke turned, disbelieved that a ninja had been behind him and he hadn't detected it. _Only Naruto and jonin at Kakashi's level are that smooth, _he noticed. Just who was this guy? Kankurou had a fearful expression on his face and he began to stammer, "H-hey G-gaara, Y-you s-see w-what-"

"Shut up," Gaara commanded and Kankurou fell silent. "If you say anything, I'll kill you instantly. I am sorry for anything my teammate has said or done, please do not be offended by it." He came down from the tree and looked at Naruto. _Those eyes, _Naruto thought, looking at Gaara's bloodlusted eyes.

"That's alright," Naruto said without faltering. Gaara's face assumed a confused look before he smiled, "What's your name? Mother wants your blood." Naruto's eyebrow rose but he answered: "Naruto Uzumaki; may I know yours?"

"Gaara of the Desert," Gaara answered. "We will meet in the Chunin Exams, Uzumaki." With that, the three of them left the scene. Naruto just looked at Sasuke, who shrugged and twirled a finger around his temple. Naruto cracked a grin before leaving on his way to his apartment while Sasuke went to the Uchiha compound.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke immediately felt someone following him. He activated his Sharingan and saw a ninja tracing him, keeping to the bushes. Sasuke stopped and turned, "What do you want?" The ninja came out and threw three kunai at Sasuke, who deflected them with ease. He looked up and saw Iruka's chakra signature under the disguise. "Iruka-sensei," he said, surprising the ninja. "What are you doing stalking kids in a disguise?"

Iruka smiled and took off his disguise. "You've improved a lot, Sasuke," he commented. "I've tested several kids and it seems you guys are ready for the Chunin Exams. Now, I need to locate Naruto to test him; any idea where he is." Sasuke smirked before saying, "I've got a pretty good idea."

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Naruto could feel someone tracking him. He didn't even need his Rinnegan to hear the bushes rustling behind him. He quickly launched kunai at it and a target flew out of the leaves. "Haha," the ninja said in a strange voice. "I will rob you of what ever things you have. Give me your money." Naruto rolled his eyes and made a few shadow clones who each tackled Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, giving Iruka a shock. "Why are you stalking me in that outfit?" Iruka wacked aside Naruto's clones. _He's gotten faster and stronger, _Iruka noticed. Kakashi wasn't kidding when he said that Naruto was chunin-level already. "I needed to test you so I knew you'd be ready for the Chunin Exams," Iruka explained.

Naruto just smiled. "Don't worry about me, sensei," he said giving him a thumbs up. "You'd better stop or people will think you're a pedo, though. I'm fine; I've gotten a lot stronger since Mizuki and that chunin badge is as good as mine."

Iruka smiled and promised Naruto some ramen later on before he left to file his report at the Hokage. On the way, he couldn't help but shed a few tears since Naruto had becoming a full-fledged shinobi. _He's truly different from the kid that used to pull pranks, _Iruka realized.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke entered the Academy and went to the third floor. They saw two ninja beating up on a green-spandex-wearing guy and a pink-shirt-wearing girl. Their teammate stood next to them, arguing with the ninja. Sasuke smiled at Naruto, who said, "Go handle this, Sasuke."

The Uchiha went up to them. "Let us through," he said. "We want to go to the third floor; your genjutsu sucks, we could see it from a mile away."

"Well well," one of them said. "You saw the genjutsu huh? Let's see how you deal with this!" As he said that, the other one launched a kick at Sasuke, who instantly moved and did the same. Then, in an instant, Lee appeared between them and blocked their kicks. He let go after a moment, letting out a breath. "Lee," the one known as Neji said. "Weren't you the one who wanted to keep a low profile?"

"I know but," Lee said looking at Sasuke with a heated stare. Then, he went to Sakura and asked her out. Naruto gave a laugh as Sakura rejected him, sending him depressed into the wall. _I remember when I used to do that, _Naruto thought. He had been such a kid. "Hey, you," Neji said to Sasuke. "What's your name?"

"It's common courtesy to give your own name before anothers," Sasuke said to him, causing him to glare.

"What did you say?" Neji couldn't believe how arrogant Sasuke was. "You're a rookie aren't you? How old are you?"

"I'm not obliged to answer," Sasuke said before he left with Sakura and Naruto. _Good, _Naruto thought. _The fact they're all thinking about Sasuke makes my job easier by a ton. _Although if he had been like he had at the Academy, then he would probably be seething with jealously at Sasuke's reputation.

Once they got upstairs, Sasuke was openly challenged by the green-spandex-wearing guy called Rock Lee. "I challenge you to a fight," Lee said before he settled into a taijutsu stance. Sasuke just smirked, thinking it would be a breeze, but Naruto said, "Sasuke, this guy... you shouldn't fight him." Sasuke just dismissed it, "You're overthinking it, Naruto."

Then, as Sasuke charged at Lee, he disappeared. Thanks to his sparring with Naruto, Sasuke had gotten used superior speed so he easily dodged Lee's kick but was surprised when he got hit by a roundhouse kick. "Is this it?" Lee asked, mocking Sasuke. "Is this all the mighty Uchiha can do?"

Sasuke got up and opened his eyes, revealing his Sharingan. The right eye now had three tomoe in them while the left still had two. "Ah," Lee acknowledged. "So this is the Sharingan, is it?" Meanwhile, Sakura was deeply impressed that Sasuke had a full Sharingan in one eye. _He's so cool, _she thought.

Sasuke charged at Lee, who dashed to the side. "Where are you going?" Sasuke yelled as he punched at Lee, who sidestepped. Using his Sharingan, Sasuke saw Lee's kick coming and moved backwards. While he managed to dodge it, the next kick got under his guard and punched him in the chin sending him flying through the air.

"H-how did you do that?" Sasuke asked as he slowly got up.

"I'm a taijutsu specialist," Lee explained. "Your Sharingan is good, I will give you that; but while your eyes may be able to see my attacks, your body is not fast enough to react to them. In other words, you have slow reflexes. The only way you can improve _that _is by gaining greater experience, which is not something you can copy. It's called hard work."

Having said that, Lee had disappeared from sight again. Using his Sharingan, Sasuke saw Lee's attack but as he moved to intercept it, he was punched in the gut before getting sent through the air again. "Compared to you," Lee said. "It's better if I test my capabilities against Naruto, there."

"W-what do you mean?" Sasuke stood up. "Your fight is with me!"

"I've heard about Naruto," Lee explained. "Your sensei, Kakashi, states that Naruto there is already as strong as chunin. If you're not a challenge, I'm afraid I will have to fight your teammate." Having said that, Sasuke stood up and released a large burst of chakra. He charged at Lee who used his speed again but this time, Sasuke responded and managed to block Lee's kick. _I can work with my Sharingan, _Sasuke thought.

After that, the fight evened out with Lee and Sasuke exchanging blows evenly until Sasuke began to run out of stamina. Lee was almost exactly like Naruto; neither of them ran out of stamina. Eventually, Sasuke was pushed to the ground while Lee stood over him. "You're done for," Lee said as he kicked Sasuke into the air.

Then, using his speed, Lee appeared beside Sasuke in mid-air. "Dancing Leaf Shadow," Sasuke noted causing Lee to laugh, "Good eye. Now, you will see my point." Then, his bandages began to wrap around Sasuke who felt it encircle his hand. Then, in the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared and kicked off Lee. Lee punched at Naruto, who simply batted the hand aside.

"Amazing," Lee said on the ground. "You can keep up with me; I see that Kakashi-san was not bluffing about you. We should spar sometime, Naruto-kun." Then, a turtle appeared out of nowhere. On it, there was a man that looked exactly like Lee although had more muscles and a more built-up body.

"Lee," he thundered. "You know you're not supposed to use _that _technique on a comrade. If Naruto-san had not deflected you, you would have hurt Sasuke bad."

"I'm sorry, Gai-sensei," Lee said, looking down. "I got too absorbed into the fight."

"It's okay, Lee," Gai said, holding the boy. "Your flames of youth burn bright."

"Gai-sensei," Lee tearfully said. An amazing watery background appeared behind them. Gai said his thanks to Naruto for having stopped the technique, to which Naruto nodded mutely before he took Sasuke and Sakura to the examination room.

"What was that for, Naruto?" Sasuke yelled at Naruto, who just glared back at him.

"If he had actually done that technique," Naruto spoke slowly. "Then, you would not be able to take the exams and I didn't want that, Sasuke. Now get your head over it, you need to build up your reflexes and speed so your taijutsu can improve. There's nothing more to it; besides, Lee didn't use any ninjutsu so he doesn't seem very skilled in that. You need to calm down, Sasuke!"

Sasuke nodded and muttered a thanks to Naruto, who just accepted it. He would have ended up handy-capped if Lee had executed that technique on him. _How did Naruto stop the technique when I couldn't even see it? _Sasuke wondered. Was he actually this strong? "Well," he smirked, breaking the tension. "It looks like these exams will be fun after all." Naruto just grinned and the three left the scene.

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They met Kakashi at the entrance to the room. "Well," Kakashi eye-smiled. "It's good to see that all of you came otherwise you wouldn't be able to take the exams."

"WHAT?" Sasuke and Naruto exclaimed. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well," he said, looking at Sakura. "If Sakura had decided not to come, then you and Sasuke couldn't take the exams. I didn't tell you since I didn't want you to pressurize anybody or force them to enter."

"Hey, sensei," Naruto said to Kakashi. "Did you really need to say that I was as strong as a chunin?"

Kakashi sweat-dropped. "Sorry, Naruto," the one-eyed jonin said. "I didn't want you to be a legend or something but it was the only way to get the Hokage and Iruka to understand that you are strong."

"Yeah, I got that," Naruto said. "But now everybody kind of suspects me to be incredibly strong and I don't want to lose my element of surprise." Kakashi seemed surprised before he thought, _Looks like Naruto is really thinking like a shinobi now. _"Just tell them that I said that so you could enter the exams since you failed the Academy so many times." Naruto nodded to that.

"Naruto, Sasuke," he said, causing them to look up. Kakashi eye-smiled before saying, "Break a leg, alright? You have more than what it takes to be chunin and test your powers to the farthest. Sakura, make sure you help them with your intellect." Sasuke and Sakura nodded before entering the classroom. "Naruto," Kakashi addressed him directly. "Everyone will be looking to see how far you've gone. Remember to give a show and I'm rooting for ya." Naruto smiled at him before entering the room.

As he entered the classroom, everybody turned to look at them. "Ino-pig," Sakura said to Ino, who just scoffed back a 'Forehead'. "What's up, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked the lazy Nara.

"Nothin' much, Naruto," he smiled at the blonde. "I've heard from Asuma that you've gotten quite strong. Already chunin-level from what Kakashi-sensei says. I don't believe him though."

"Naruto," Ino laughed. "Yeah right; Sasuke is stronger than him I'm sure." Naruto just grinned at her and admitted, "I'm nowhere near Kakashi-sensei; he probably said that to enter me into the Chunin Exams. You know how many times I've failed at the Academy?" This made more sense to the others so they nodded.

"Don't step on that bug," Shino said to Choji, who had probably stepped on a bug.

"Oh yeah," Choji said, munching at chips. "What are you gonna do about it?" Shino just shrugged but was glaring at the Akimichi behind his glasses.

"Hey you guys," a voice said behind them. They turned to see a white-haired pony-tailed guy who wore glasses. "You're the 9 rookies that just graduated, aren't you? Keep it down here; you've already made an impression on everybody here. People are glaring at you, now." They could see that many ninja were looking at them heatedly.

"In fact," Kabuto said. "You remind me of myself when I took the exam the first time."

"First time?" Sakura looked at him. "You've taken the exams more than once?"

"Actually," he said, smiling sheepishly. "Since Chunin Exams are held twice a year, this is my fourth time."

"Wow," Ino said. "You must really be obstinate by now. You could give us some insight." Kabuto nodded and proceeded to show them his ninja Info Cards.

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Several shinobi were looking at them; one of them was Kumogakure. The three man team from the Hidden Cloud was Yugito Nii, Omoi, and Karui. "Pitiful ninja," Yugito thought as she scanned through them until her eyes fell on Naruto. _That one, _she thought. _Why do I get a strange feeling from him?_

_**Hey, kit, **_Nibi said from inside her. _**That one there seems like a jinchuuriki like you.**_

_What? _Yugito thought, shocked. A jinchuuriki was taking the Chunin Exams. _Do you know which Bijuu he has?_

_**Well, **_Nibi scratched her head and purred. _**This feeling seems like... oh, it's the Kyuubi. The Nine-Tails jinchuuriki is attending the Chunin Exams. It should be interesting.**_

_Nice, _Yugito grinned. _So now there's that Shukaku kid, me, and the Kyuubi kid. This should be interesting, indeed, Matatabi. I wonder if he's strong._

_**I doubt he's partners with the Kyuubi, **_Matatabi said. _**And he's only a genin so his attacks shouldn't be too strong. You could probably handle him easily.**_

_But I'm not allowed to use you, _Yugito thought. _What if he transforms?_

_**You have rights to transform as well, **_Matatabi grinned. _**It's called self-defence, Yugito. **_After that, Yugito withdrew from her mind and continued conversing with Omoi and Karui but keeping a close eye on Gaara and Naruto.

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"Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara muttered crazily as he looked at the blonde. "Mother wants your and Sasuke Uchiha's blood. Mother wants your blood." Temari and Kankurou glanced worriedly at Gaara, who had a crazy look on his face as he stared at Naruto and Sasuke. "Mother wants your blood," the red-haired jinchuuriki repeated slowly.

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"So they're all here," the transformed Itachi noticed. "I can't believe you got beat by a kid like that; he looks even weaker than my foolish little brother."

"He's quite strong," the transformed Kisame warned. "Don't underestimate him, Itachi-san. He took us by surprise last time."

"Exactly," Itachi said. "He had the element of surprise and you weren't used to working with Konan. And even then, he lived due to using the Nine-Tails' chakra. This time, with me here, he will go down."

"Nagato," the transformed Konan whispered. "I will avenge your death by killing that demon brat!"

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Kabuto finished explaining to the amazed genin about the balance of power. Almost all of the nations were participating in the Chunin Exams this time. "I've also got some information on each of you," Kabuto said, holding out his deck of Info Cards. "So anybody you'd like to know about?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, standing forward. "Give me intel on Gaara of the Desert and Rock Lee of Konoha."

"Oh, come on," Kabuto said. "You already know their names and nations; this is no fun." He then came out with two cards and pushed chakra into them. Some stats were revealed, shocking the other genin. "Rock Lee; he's a genin and has Might Guy as jonin sensei. His taijutsu is immensely good and his accuracy with kunai are also quite good. He doesn't have any... genjutsu or ninjutsu skills. His teammates are Tenten and Neji Hyuuga."

"Alright, now for Gaara," Kabuto took the other card and pushed chakra into it. "Gaara of the Desert; he's from Sunagakure and Baki as jonin sensei. Nothing is known about his skills except he came from every mission without a single scratch." All of the genin looked at each other, shocked that there was somebody like that.

As everybody looked depressed at the competition, Naruto looked up and barked at the top of his voice. "Hey," he yelled. "LOOK AT ME; MY NAME IS NARUTO UZUMAKI AND I'M GOING TO BEAT EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. NOTHING IS GOING TO STAND IN MY WAY, BELIEVE IT!

Yugito was surprised that this jinchuuriki was so cheerful despite his hardships while Gaara just looked in anticipation at the blonde. The Akatsuki members looked surprised while Itachi had to supress a grin; Naruto was definitely very confident. Konan shook with rage and smiled evilly, not able to wait until she wiped that grin of his face. The rest of the ninja just looked surprised with some glaring, but Naruto held his look.

Outside, Kakashi smiled in relief. _That guy, _he thought. _He doesn't know when to give up, does he? Just like you, Minato-sensei. _And Naruto was definitely as strong if not stronger than a chunin so these exams wouldn't be a challenge for him. Kakashi could now relax and a bit and decided to join his fellow jonin at the lounge. He silently wished his team luck before using shunshin to disappear in a swirl of leaves.

Inside the room, everyone relaxed a bit although they lectured Naruto for making so many people their enemies. Sakura tried to choke him but Naruto backed away. Then, three sound ninjas charged at Kabuto. Naruto could see that they had sound waves onto their hand; if that even got close to Kabuto, he would lose hearing in an ear.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto had crossed the room and kicked the guy in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. "And I forgot to add," the blonde said, a menacing look on his face. "Don't attack my friends or you won't live to regret it." The sound ninja scoffed and came at Naruto again but were all tripped by the blonde. "Man," Naruto said. "You guys are slow as heck."

The entire room was silent as they watched that. "He's quite fast," Yugito noticed. "I might have some fun fighting him after all." Itachi could see how Naruto might have taken down Kisame and Konan although it looked like the blonde was holding back a lot. _My brother might've helped him train, _Itachi thought but it seemed unlikely.

Then, a voice came out from the top of the room. "SETTLE DOWN," a man said. He wore gray clothes and a black trench coat. "My name's Ibiki Morino and I'm your proctor for the first exam. Now take a seat and shut the hell up since you're giving me a freaking headache."

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"There'll be no fighting here," Ibiki glared at the sound ninja and sighed at Naruto. "If you mess with me, you'll be disqualified immediately. Now, the first part of this exam will be the written test. Hand over your applications and you will told where to sit. Once you sit there, you will be given further instructions."

Once this was over, which was in half an hour, they were taken to another room where they each sat somewhere. Naruto sat at the heart of the room while Sakura was far up ahead. Sasuke was probably somewhere to the right of him. He couldn't tell with all of these people.

"EYES HERE," Ibiki said, making sure everybody was quiet. "Alright, now there are a few rules you need to know. Now, each of you begin with a total of 10 points. If you answer all questions correctly, you will keep your 10 points. Every single question answered wrong is one point deducted with all questions wrong being 0 points. And all of you are marked as a team, by the way."

"WHAT?" Sakura yelled. "Why are we not assesed individually?"

"SILENCE," Ibiki roared back. "I have my reasons and you need to obey orders without opinion. So shut up and listen! Now, all these sentinels around the room are here to see if you are cheating. If you're caught cheating, then 2 points will be subtracted from you. Naturally, if they catch you 5 times, you've failed. The final rule... is that if any person on your team has 0 points, then the entire team will fail."

This caused many people to start talking. "WHAT?" Sakura yelled. She knew that while Sasuke could probably answer a few questions, Naruto would probably not understand any of them. _Naruto, _she thought desperately. _You better answer at least one of them! _Sasuke thought the same thing but had more faith in Naruto. _If he's gotten so much stronger, _Sasuke thought. _Maybe he's gotten smarter as well._

"Alright," Ibiki said. "You'll have one hour to do the first nine questions and then, you will be given the final tenth question. Good luck brats and show us what exceptional shinobi you can be!" He then took a seat and closed his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi, Kisame, and Konan inwardly groaned. This was so stupid! After they had taken one look at the questions, it was clear they were supposed to cheat. Especially if only two points got deducted after getting caught cheated once. Kisame and Konan turned and caught Itachi's eye.

Itachi laid back on his chair. No doubt there were people in the room that knew all of the answers. He would just have to wait for that person to finish up and then, he would use his Sharingan to copy off all of the answers. He would just have to put Kisame and Konan under a genjutsu and write the answers for them.

Kisame and Konan had figured as much so they also laid back in their chairs. This would be quite boring, apparently.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto groaned quietly as he looked at his paper. While his skills had improved drastically, Naruto didn't know any of the answers. He looked to his far right and saw that Sasuke was facing the same problem. _I have to get at least one question right, _thought Naruto. Sakura would have to answer most of the questions.

He looked at the first question. It said: _If Shinobi A is at Point A and Shinobi B is at Point B, explain the axis of symmetry and vertex of the shuriken's path if Shinobi A passes it to Shinobi B. _Wait, what was the formula to calculating the vertex. Wasn't he supposed to make a table of values with x and function of x or something? Or wait was that for something else? Wasn't there some big equation to calculating axis of symmetry or something?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_These questions, _Sasuke noticed. _They're way too difficult for regular genin to solve; while there are people like Sakura, most people don't know the answers. And since you only get two points deducted if you cheat... then that would mean... _Sasuke's eyes widened. The only solution was that they _wanted _the genin to cheat. This was actually a test of information-gathering.

No doubt, there were people that knew all of the answers. People would sit back and relax before using their skills to get all of the answers. _I hope Naruto can realize that, _he hoped. Sasuke sat back and closed his eyes. He would have to wait for a while before he could use the Sharingan to copy what the person was writing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_OH, THAT'S IT! _Naruto realized. He had also reached the conclusion that he would have to cheat to answer these questions. They were actually testing the genin's ability to gather intel from the people that already knew all of the answers. Besides, these answers were _way _too tought to be answerable by genin.

Naruto smiled before sitting back. He saw that Sasuke had closed his eyes and was waiting until some people finished their test. Naruto just smirked and tried some chakra control excercises underneath his desk by carving up the wood slowly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Around ten minutes later, the ninja began their operations. Gaara held out his hand and made another eye form, which peeked at the answers. Then, he began writing them down. Across the room, Akamaru growled all of the answers to Kiba, who smiled and wrote them down. Shino used his bugs and their eyesight to write a few questions down.

The sound ninja had it the easiest; they used the frequency, rhythm, and number of strokes to find out exactly what the person was writing. They wrote those down quickly before the sentinels could discover. Tenten used her wires to copy off Shino and let Lee copy it off. Then, after some time, the sentinels began to fail teams that had members who had cheated five times.

Afte that, the sentinels were on full alert, failing a lot of people. But the rookies knew that they could pull it off with their techniques. Itachi had already copied answers and had subjected Kisame and Konan to a genjutsu where they had to trace over the answers so it would appear on their real paper.

Neji activated his Byakugan, allowing him to see through a person's back and to the paper. He began to copy down the answers. Sasuke brought out his Sharingan and imitated the pencil flicks of another guy in front of him who had a lot of the answers. Naruto smiled and activated his Rinnegan, which allowed him to copy off the answers of the guy sitting to his right; some distance away.

Ino used the Mind Transfer Jutsu on Sakura and looked through Sakura's eyes. _I need to memorize these, _she looked, _so I can let Shikamaru and Choji know them. _So, all of the Konoha 11 had their pages moderately full by the time the hour was up. Apparently, one of the proctors had been Kankuro's puppet Crow and he got the answers during his trip to the toilet. "Alright," Ibiki said. "It's time for the tenth question."

"You need to decide if you want to take the tenth question," Ibiki prompted, "or not." Many genin looked surprised at that; they were free to chose whether or not they wanted to take the question.

"Why wouldn't we?" Temari asked.

"Well," Ibiki said. "If you don't take this question, you do fail the Chunin Exams but you can come again next year. However, if you take the question and don't answer it correctly, then you're banned from taking the Chunin Exams ever again!" All of the faces of the remaining genin fell before some of them raised their hands, deciding not to take the exams.

That was when Naruto stood up and banged his hand against the table. "You don't scare me," he said to Ibiki. "I don't care if I can never become chunin again. I'll still train my butt off and become Hokage in the end after all. We won't know until we do it so stop wasting time and give us the tenth question 'cuz we're ready!" As he said that, all of the people that were about to raise their hands stopped and looked at Ibiki, determined.

_Interesting, _Ibiki thought. _He's cleared away all of their doubt; good job, Naruto Uzumaki. _"Alright then," he looked at them. "You pass the first test!" All of the genin began to look at him, confused. "Wait," Temari said. "Where's the tenth question?"

"There was none," Ibiki laughed. "The tenth question was just to see whether or not you could take the risk of the mission. If you didn't take the mission, you would fail but could take it again. If you took the mission but you failed to do it, then you would be disgraced. So the tenth question was actually to see if you could take the risk of failing the mission and take it." The genin finally understood the concept but Ino yelled out, "Then what was the point of the first nine questions?"

"Oh those," Ibiki laughed. "Those were to test your information-gathering skills; when you take a mission, you do not always have the information. Thus you have to skillfully gather information without getting caught. These ten questions are part of what it means to be a shinobi!" Then, their windows exploded and a lady arrived.

"Well, well, Ibiki," she said. "Looks like you're getting soft in your old age."

"Impatient as always, Anko," Ibiki said. "It just happens to be that this year they're a good bunch." Ibiki looked at Naruto meaningfully. "Well, it doesn't matter," Anko said, smiling evilly. "By the time I'm done with them, there'll be less than half of them left."


	9. Chapter 9

Alright, here's the second part of the Chunin Exams for you guys! Oh and I've had some time to think of a paring and it will most likely be light Naruto x Yugito fluff until the Chunin Exams finish. But that's not in this chapter... it will be in the next chapter probably when they meet. Naruto will train with her, Zabuza, and Jiraiya during that the one-month training. But anyways, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 9: **_The Chunin Exams - The Forest of Death_

All of the teams came back in the morning at the Forest of Death; Training Zone 44. "Alright," Anko said. "Good morning everyone; I'll explain to you what you need to do." She held out two scrolls. One of was blue and had 'earth' written on it. The other was hazel and had 'heaven' written on it. "Your objective," Anko explained, "is to get to the building in the center of the forest in five days. You must arrive with both heaven and earth scrolls."

"How do do that?" Sakura asked her, causing her to laugh.

"Well," she said. "You'll have one scroll and you need to get the other from the other teams. There are twenty-six teams so thirteen will have a heaven scroll while the other thirteen have an earth scroll. So there's a rough fifty-fifty chance that the teams you encounter will have either earth or heaven."

"Are we allowed to kill?" Yugito asked Anko. The disguised Akatsuki members leaned in to listen to this. "Yes," Anko said, causing them to grin. "In fact, you need to sign these forms to show that Konoha does not take responsibility if you die in these exams."

They spent the next few minutes signing the forms. "Man, this place gives me the creeps," Sakura said, looking at the dark forest.

Anko chuckled. "It should," she said. "It's called the Forest of Death and you're soon going to find out why." Naruto laughed and mimicked her, "It's called the Forest of Death... and you're going to find out why. Do your worst; I can take it."

Anko smiled before, without warning, she threw a kunai at Naruto. As it grazed his cheek, he disappeared in smoke. _When did he... _Anko turned to find Naruto's kunai at her throat. "Blood must excite you," the blonde said as he held his kunai at her throat. "Don't get so impatient, Anko-sensei." All of the ninja were surprised as they saw the all-talk blonde do that. _He got a jonin, _Yugito thought, nice.

_Is that... Naruto the dead-last? _Six of the Konoha genin thought in surprise while Sasuke saw that Naruto's speed had increased since the Land of Waves. Then, something peculiar happened and a grass ninja appeared in front of Anko, her kunai in his tongue. Anko looked startled before smiling as she took the kunai, "Please, don't do that again unless you wanna die."

"I'm sorry," the grass ninja said although she did not sound sorry. "I didn't mean to startle you." As Anko dismissed the ninja, he or she walked back to her team. "Looks like people are getting ready for the forest," Anko said and Naruto stepped back. "You're quite fast, kid," she said to Naruto, who just smiled. "Well, it's time for the second phase of the Chunin Exams to begin!"

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As soon as they opened the gates, everybody rushed into the forest, ready to take on anybody. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura rushed inside. "Naruto," Sasuke yelled, causing the blonde to turn around. "Yeah?" he asked looking at Sasuke. "Let's do this," he smiled, showing Naruto how excited he was. They nodded; Team 7 would get their earth scroll.

Yugito, Omoi, and Karui went through the forest; looking for Naruto and his team. She noticed that he had a heaven scroll and they needed that. Besides, Matatabi was looking forward to fighting the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki as well. "Let's go," Yugito called and the other two nodded.

"You know who we're looking for right?" the grass ninja, Orochimaru, said to his teammates. "Yes," they hissed. "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha!" They sped through the forest, looking for their victims.

"Locate the jinchuuriki," Itachi told Kisame and Konan. "Kisame, go ahead and look for Shukaku. I will look for the Nibi while Konan, you can go and encounter the Kyuubi. Let's split up and try not to show off too much of your abilities." They nodded before spliting up. Konan grinned at the prospect of fighting Naruto again.

Lee sped through the forests, pumping his hand. "Lee, calm down," Neji called to him. "The test has only begun and we have five days to get the scroll." Tenten agreed with Neji since Lee was getting too excited. "I know that," Lee said. "But I want to take care of our opponents before they find us."

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Naruto and Sasuke quickly dodged as two kunai came flying at them. Naruto quickly realized that it was a Ame ninja. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" he yelled, summoning a dozen clones. They crossed over to the tree in an instant and kicked out the Rain ninja towards Sasuke. Since Sasuke had copied Lee's taijutsu technique, he quickly kicked the ninja up into the air.

Then, he re-appeared behind the nina before slamming his leg into his gut. "**Lion's Barrage,**" he yelled, causing the rain ninja to crash into the ground. Getting up slowly, he fled the scene. "Wow," Naruto said as he came down from the tree. "What a loser," Sasuke scoffed. "We need a password."

"A password?" Sakura asked, confused.

"It's so we aren't fooled by the Transformation Jutsu," Sasuke explained. "Some Henges are so good that not even the Sharingan can see through them although genin shouldn't be able to do that. But in any case, I can't keep my Sharingan active for an entire five days and I don't Naruto can do his either."

"So what's the password?" Naruto asked, wondering if he could remember it.

"Alright," Sasuke said. "Listen carefully." He then told them the password. "Um okay," Naruto said. "I guess I can remember that."

"You better, Naruto," Sakura warned before she smiled at Sasuke. "You're so smart, Sasuke." Sasuke scoffed before they stood up. "Hey," Naruto called. "Can I go take a leak? I'll be back soon." They sighed before nodding. "Come back quick, dobe," Sasuke said. Naruto nodded before he walked off into the bushes.

After a few minutes, Sasuke and Sakura were hit by a blast of wind. "AHHH," they yelled before they flew into the bushes. At the head of the blast, the three grass ninja stood there. Orochimaru smiled before he commanded, "You two, go head into the forest and look for the jinchuuriki. I'll handle this here." They nodded before flying into the woods.

Sasuke hid under the bushes and thought, _Naruto can handle those two with no problem. But this guy... I can sense he has a lot of power. _Then, he heard something so he came out of the bushes. "Sakura," he stopped the approaching pink-head. "When does a ninja strike?"

"Oh, right," Sakura nodded before reciting, "A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night; that is the moment for the ninja to strike." Sasuke nodded and then, Naruto appeared.

"Hey guys," he said. "I heard some noise so I came back to check-"

"What's the password?" Sasuke asked, his kunai in hand. "Oh, that," Naruto smiled. "A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night; that is the moment for the ninja to strike." Sasuke just smiled before he threw his kunai at Naruto, who quickly dodged and moved back.

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Sakura asked. "He got the password right!"

"Don't you get it, Sakura," Sasuke shot back. "Do you really think Naruto could remember all of that? He would remember the first few words and then forget the rest." Naruto smiled and disappeared in smoke, to reveal Orochimaru. "Tell me," he said. "What is the point of coming up with a password like that if your teammate is such an idiot?"

"It wasn't for him," Sasuke explained. "It was to see who was eavesdropping on our conversation and it looks like I found out, eh?"

"I'm impressed, Sasuke," Orochimaru said, licking his lips. _I will get his Sharingan, _Orochimaru thought. "It will be a pleasure to do battle with you!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright," Naruto said, zipping his black pants. "Now I'll head back to the guys." As he turned around, Naruto came face to face with two ninja. He quickly stepped back, "Who are you guys? What do you want?"

"To kill you," they said together and charged at Naruto. Naruto quickly sidestepped the first and jumped over the second one. "You need to try harder than that," Naruto replied, angering the two grass ninja. They came at Naruto again but the blonde yelled, "**Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Two shadow clones came out and kicked each ninja into the face.

"Argh," one of them yelled. "He's stronger than we thought." The other one just laughed and got up, "You won't survive this one: **Summoning Jutsu.**" Then, a large snake appeared and charged at Naruto. The blonde was too late and couldn't help getting eaten by the snake. The two grass ninja laughed before they left to get the other teams.

_Shit, _Naruto cursed mentally. _At this rate, I'm gonna be digested by this snake. _He wondered how he should get stop that since he was beginning to fall inside the body of the snake. "Oh, now I get it," he yelled. "Alright: **Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Then, the snake erupted into hordes of Narutos, who came out. "Yuck," one of them yelled. "My clothes are all wet!" The Narutos disappeared and the original went back to where Sasuke and Sakura were.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You would love to get our earth scroll, wouldn't you?" Orochimaru asked. "Too bad that won't happen." He wrapped his tongue around the scroll before swallowing it. "W-what are you?" Sasuke asked but Orochimaru simply chuckled.

Then, a wave of killer intent hit Sasuke and Sakura. They slumped to the ground, unable to breath. While Sakura fell to the ground, Sasuke tried to move. "I-I c-can't m-move," Sasuke noticed, panting. "Pitiful," Orochimaru said. "You're paralysed with fear. Just give me the heaven scroll and you'll be spared."

"NOT SO FAST," Sasuke roared, his Sharingan flaring. _Well, well, there it is, _Orochimaru thought. _And he has one of them mastered already. This will be very interesting. _Sasuke got up, ready. He wouldn't just be helpless again like he had with Itachi. He would get that earth scroll, even if he had to tear it out of the grass ninja's stomach.

Sasuke could still feel some of the intent wash over his body. _I've got no choice, _he thought. He took out his kunai and tore at his arm. As he felt the pain, Sasuke grabbed Sakura and moved away as Orochimaru launched a wave of shuriken at them. "He used pain to get rid of the leftover killing intent," Orochimaru noted. "Well-done. I can see the avenger in him."

As Sasuke and Sakura panted in hidding, she could see his arm bleeding. "Sasuke," she gasped. "Your arm is-" Sasuke's hand covered her mouth. "Shut up," he hissed at her. He looked out at where Orochimaru was and was shocked to see she had disappeared.

He turned and saw the snake coming. "**Wind Style: Divine Wind,**" he yelled and let out a blast of wind at the snake. It turned over and crashed into a branch. From the skin of the snake, Orochimaru came out. "I can sense your desperation and fear," he said, his tongue hanging out. "That is how the prey should feel in the presence of the predator."

He tore out of the snake and came at Sasuke. The Uchiha's Sharingan allowed him to see the grass ninja coming at him so Sasuke sidestepped the thrust and backed away. "Your eyes won't save you," he hissed and came at Sasuke again. _I can see him, _Sasuke realized. _But I'm not fast enough to react._ Then, Orochimaru backed away as several shuriken were fired at him.

"Looks like I made it in time," Naruto called, causing the three to look at him. "Naruto," Sakura laughed. "You're hear." Sasuke's ragged breaths calmed but Naruto didn't stand a chance. This guy was holding back yet his speed was greater than Naruto's. While Naruto had his Rinnegan, this guy was much too strong for them.

"Naruto," Sasuke yelled. "He's too strong even for you; we need to give him the scroll and get away from here. Don't play the hero; just listen to me for once."

"Very good, Sasuke," Orochimaru praised. "Sometimes you need to appease the predator by giving him what he wants."

"As if," Naruto snorted. "You're probably not even here for the scroll; you had so many other teams to get yet you spent your time coming to us." Orochimaru glared at the blonde, _Could he have figured it out? This kid is too much like that pest, Jiraiya._

"Wait," Sasuke looked at Orochimaru. "I'll give you what you want." Ignoring Naruto and Sakura's incredulous looks, he took out the heaven scroll from his tools and threw it at Orochimaru. In a flash, Naruto had gotten it and appeared onto the branch. "Stop playing the hero, Naruto," Sasuke yelled, enraged. "You don't understand how-"

"SHUT UP," Naruto yelled, punching Sasuke in the face. The Uchiha went plummeting backwards. "You're not Sasuke," the blonde pointed his finger at Sasuke, "The Sasuke I know would never give the enemy what he wants. He wasn't a scaredy cat like you!"

"Pathetic," Orochimaru commented. "But as far as the scroll goes, I'll just kill you and take it. **Summoning Jutsu.**" He summoned another one of the snakes that had attacked Naruto. _One of those from before, _Naruto realized. _So he was behind it, eh? _Naruto closed his eyes before he opened them. "Impossible," Orochimaru muttered. "Is this the Rinnegan?"

"Time for mine," he yelled before going through the seals. "**Summoning Jutsu.**" The rhino appeared before it charged at the snake. They fell into combat while Orochimaru examined Naruto. "Unbelievable," he laughed. "To think that you would awaken the legendary Rinnegan." _Darn, _he fumed inwardly. _Because of that blasted Kyuubi, I can't mark him with my Cursed Seal. But I will have to see if he's strong enough to pose a challenge to me._

She came at Naruto but he disappeared from sight. "Your speed is nothing," he yelled, turning to block one of Naruto's kicks. "I've fought faster men than this." He punched at Naruto but the blonde was able to dodge it. "You're better than the Uchiha," Orochimaru admitted. "But still nothing compared to me. **Fire Style: Flame Bullet.**"

"**Water Style: Wild Water Wave,**" Naruto yelled, his water attack overpowering Orochimaru. _He's better than I thought, _Orochimaru realized. _Naruto is easily jonin-level so I might have to get serious. _"You won't survive this," he hissed. "**Wind Style: Pressure Damage.**" As he used it, Naruto and Sasuke both copied the technique for later use.

"I'll show you something new," Naruto's Rinnegan flared. "**Dark Style: Inhaling Maw.**" A red-crimson-like structure appeared on his left hand and Orochimaru's attack began to get sucked up. In a minute, Naruto had absorbed the attack. "**Dark Style: Judgement,**" he yelled and blue flames erupted from his hand towards Orochimaru.

_What elemental style is that? It must be a Kekkei Genkai, _Orochimaru realized as he narrowly dodged the attack. "Heads-up," Naruto yelled as he appeared above Orochimaru. "**Dark Style: Shadow Glare.**" A string of shadows erupted out of his left hand and assaulted Orochimaru. "This is nothing, brat," Orochimaru yelled. "**Fire Style: Great Blaze Ball.**" Naruto's shadows were evaporated and there was a large explosion.

Naruto absorbed most of it using the Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal of the Preta Path but saw Orochimaru nowhere. "Behind you, Naruto," a voice hissed. As Naruto turned, he was kicked into the air by the snake ninja, causing him to laugh. "You're finished," Orochimaru hissed and then, Naruto disappeared in a poof.

_He made a shadow clone in the smoke, _Orochimaru realized. "**Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains,**" Naruto yelled and a blast of wind tore into Orochimaru, whose body became rocky. _Wow, _Naruto thought. _He had also made a clone; an earth clone._

"You fell into my trap," Orochimaru yelled. "**Earth Style: Mud Spore.**" Naruto fell into a river of mud and found he had stuck there. "**Fire Style: Flame Bullet,**" Orochimaru yelled, sending a stream of fire shooting into the earth. Naruto could feel himself getting burned to a crisp. He quickly focused chakra onto his back, getting free from the mud and did a Replacement Jutsu with a log.

In the bushes, he panted quietly and deactivated his Rinnegan. He was now running out of chakra while the ninja looked like he was still good to go for another round. Then, Orochimaru turned to his bushes and yelled, "**Wind Style: Divine Wind.**" Naruto was pushed by a blast of wind and Orochimaru appeared behind him, kicking him forward.

"NARUTO," Sasuke and Sakura yelled as they saw their teammate plummet through the air. Naruto crashed through several branches before falling downwards. Orochimaru's summoned serpent bashed its head against the rhino, causing it to disappear in smoke. As Naruto fell to his doom, he opened his eyes, which were slitted and fiery red now.

Naruto quickly turned in mid-air and launched himself towards Orochimaru. _That fire in his eyes, _Orochimaru thought. _So the Nine-Tails came to save its container, eh? He's become more aggressive as well. _Naruto kicked the serpent in the mouth, causing it to reel back. "EAT THIS," Naruto yelled as he unleashed a flurry of punches at the serpent, causing several trees to fall at the speed.

After rebounding from a tree, Naruto charged at the serpent, baring his teeth. Orochimaru released a wave of fire at Naruto, causing him to fall onto a branch. "So this is the best he can get to with the Kyuubi's power," Orochimaru deduced. "What about you, Sasuke?" _If I can't get the Rinnegan, I will definitely get the Sharingan. _Sasuke looked fearfully as the snake came towards him.

_Why can't I move? _Sasuke thought. _Naruto managed to burn this guy's face and rip off a part of his arm. And yet, I can't even move. I can see him... but I can't move. _Fortunately, just as the serpent reached Sasuke, Naruto intercepted it and held it back, surprising the three. "How did he get so strong?" Sakura asked to herself.

"N-naruto?" Sasuke looked at Naruto, who stared at him with his red eyes. "W-why did you d-do that?"

"You're a joke," Naruto growled, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen. "You're not hurt are ya? Scaredy cat?" Sasuke recognized these words from their time at the Academy when Sasuke would say that to Naruto for failing. _Is that how he felt? _Sasuke thought, realizing his error. "There's no way the Sasuke I know would act like you," he yelled. "Standing there frozen like a frightened rabbit. And aren't you supposed to be the Uchiha Avenger? Where did that go?"

Then, Orochimaru's tongue wrapped around Naruto, lifting him up. "Hey," he yelled. "Let me go, you snake pedo." Orochimaru's eyebrow ticked and he pulled Naruto close to him. "So confident," he muttered. The five fingers of his right hand glowed with purple light and then he smashed it into Naruto's naked stomach. "**Five Elements Seal,**" Orochimaru said.

Naruto's red eyes became blue again, with its standard pupil. In a swift movement, Orochimaru threw him down from their branch. Sasuke and Sakura watched as he plummeted down before crashing onto the forest floor. "He's probably dead, now," Orochimaru mocked, looking at Sasuke and Sakura. After he said that, Orochimaru smiled before burning the heaven scroll that he had gotten from Naruto's body.

An image of Itachi came onto his mind as he relieved that night. Itachi had killed all of his family members, his entire clan. Naruto had become the closest person to Sasuke. He had helped Sasuke to improve and understood how it felt to have no family and be alone in this world. _Foolish little brother, _Itachi had said. _If you want to kill me, then run away like you do best. Run away and cling to life. Then, come before me when you have the same eyes._

Sasuke roared as his Sharingan flared to life. His left eye gained a third tomoe, which it had lacked, before the eyes changed. They became three ellipses aligned to the center pupil and it resembled the Rutherford atomic model. _Is that the Mangekyou Sharingan? _Orochimaru paled. He had already lost a lot of chakra fighting Naruto and if this was anything like Itachi's, he would have to retreat.

"THAT WAS MY BEST FRIEND," Sasuke yelled, tears in his eyes. "AND YOU KILLED HIM! DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE MEANT TO ME? DO YOU HAVE ANY FREAKING IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" He quickly charged at Orochimaru, who wanted to test Sasuke's skills. He charged at Sasuke, whose eyes saw the attack coming, so he easily batted it aside.

_His rage is allowing him to respond to what he sees, _Orochimaru realized. But he wanted to see what Sasuke could do with his Mangekyou Sharingan. "You will never get me like this, Sasuke," the snake sannin mocked as he moved away. Sasuke gave another roar before he put a kunai in his mouth, looking at Orochimaru determined.

_Amaterasu, _Sasuke thought as he directed a jet of black flames at Orochimaru. The snake sannin dodged and came at full speed at Sasuke, who merely kicked Orochimaru in his face. "I can see you," the Uchiha said simply. Then, he also disappeared before he re-materialized behind Orochimaru. The legendary shinobi's back erupted in black flames, causing him to melt into mud.

_An earth clone, _Sasuke realized. He saw the kunai come at him, which he easily dodged. Using his other eye, Sasuke managed to control the black flames. "Take this," Sasuke yelled. "**Enton: Kagutsuchi.**" Several blades of Amaterasu appeared on the ground where Orochimaru was, causing him to be pierced by black flame blades. He fell to the floor, becoming mud.

_Another earth clone? _Sasuke thought. He dodged Orochimaru's punch and kicked underneath the sannin. He moved backwards and then yelled, "**Fire Style: Flame Bullet.**" Sasuke didn't have enough time to react as the wave of fire washed over him. _So Amaterasu was the most he could manage, _Orochimaru thought.

Then, Sasuke dashed out of the fire in a flash. He slammed into Orochimaru, sending him plummeting backwards. _So fast, _Orochimaru thought as he crashed into a tree around a hundred feet away. "So this is Itachi's power," Sasuke said, looking at himself. He felt strong as an Uchiha should.

A dozen kunai came at him but Sasuke deflected them with a kunai. Orochimaru laughed, "You're done for. **Wind Style: Pressure Damage.**" Sasuke made a few hand-seals, "**Earth Style: Mud Dome.**" He was immediately surrounded by a rocky dome, which he infused with Amaterasu, enhancing his defence. After the attack was done, Sasuke appeared, unharmed but he panted.

"Looks like your Mangekyou Sharingan is too much for you to handle," Orochimaru gloated as he stood in front of Sasuke. "Actually," Sasuke grinned. "You're just where I want you to be." As Sasuke crouched, he tugged and Orochimaru became knitted with ninja wires. _He set this up after he beat my earth clone earlier, _Orochimaru's eyes widened.

"**AMATERASU**," Sasuke yelled. The broad black fire narrowed as it went across the ninja wires before frying Orochimaru. The snake sannin leaped out of his disguise, which was now burning violently. "You got me, Sasuke," Orochimaru said. _Now is my chance to give him the Cursed Seal, _thought Orochimaru. Sasuke was now on the floor, eyes bleeding.

As his neck came towards Sasuke's neck, he was assaulted by kunai. Sakura gathered up Sasuke's body before leaving the scene, pumping chakra into her feet. "YOU," Orochimaru fumed. "I was so close to branding Sasuke and YOU RUINED IT!"

"We got him, Sasuke," Sakura exclaimed to Sasuke but realized that the Uchiha had passed out. Orochimaru turned and pulled his damaged neck back. He had completely run out of chakra now so he couldn't even handle chasing the pink-haired girl.

"Just who the heck are you?" Sakura asked, tears falling.

"You just need to know that I'm Orochimaru and I will be back," Orochimaru warned, laughing once, before he was seemingly absorbed by the floor.

Sakura went down to the forest floor and saw that Naruto was completely knocked out. _I can't believe both of them are down, _Sakura thought shakily. She had never thought any genin could take down Naruto and Sasuke, especially not after they both went completely all-out at the enemy. _Well, at least they're not dead, _Sakura thought, wiping her tears away. _I have to get them somewhere safe._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Anko arrived to see where Orochimaru was at. "Well, well," Orochimaru laughed. "If it isn't my little Anko; it's been a long time."

"This is no time for that," Anko yelled. "You're an S-rank criminal; top of the most wanted list in Konoha. I need to take you to Hokage-sama immediately."

"That old fool is still Hokage, huh?" Orochimaru said, angering Anko. "Don't call him that," she threatened her former teacher. "He's many times the man you could ever be." Orochimaru just laughed at that, causing Anko to get angrier.

Anko brought out some senbon and threw them at Orochimaru. He deflected them with his tongue, which then shot towards Anko. The jonin leaped into the air causing the tongue follow. It wrapped around Anko's hand, causing her to drop her needles. Anko was smashed into the ground but she got up and yelled, "**Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.**"

Some green snakes came out of her hand and shot into the tree, dragging Orochimaru out. "You can't beat me, Anko," he said, wrapping his hand around her throat. Then, his eye widened when Anko grabbed Orochimaru's left hand and made a hand-seal. "With this jutsu," Anko said. "We'll both die."

"I'm afraid you will die alone, Anko," a voice said behind her. She turned to see Orochimaru there. _An earth clone, _she realized as the Orochimaru she was holding turned into mud. Then, Anko collapsed to the ground, holding her neck.

"Oh, it's the mark, isn't it?" he asked. "You know, I tried to put that same mark on a promising young man but alas, I failed. But don't worry I will do it again; he is very interesting and unlike you, he has something I sorely want. His lovely eyes."

"You haven't changed a bit," Anko said to her former teacher. "He'll never serve you or give you his eyes; your just wasting your time with him."

"Jealous?" he touched Anko's cheek. "You can't forgive me for using you and then tossing you aside, can you? Well, he has the sublime abilities of the Sharingan and I desperately want those. His friend has even more valuable eyes but I can't get them. And don't worry, he will come to me for power." Having said that, Orochimaru disappeared and left Anko writhing in pain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Konan released a large amount of chakra as she saw that there was no sign of Naruto. She had followed her senses to here and there had been a large battle for sure. While she was no sensory type, Konan could easily sense the leftover chakra in the air. She left again, tracking Naruto and his team's new location.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi hadn't found anything yet. While he had been lucky enough to get an earth scroll, Itachi couldn't find the Nibi and her team. He could tell that the wind was also messing with his eyes. It would take some time before he could locate her but these eyes didn't miss anything. Itachi sped through the forest.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kisame shared the plight of his teammates since he hadn't found Shukaku yet either. While he had the sharpest nose, Kisame was just one step away from reaching them. It seemed that whenever he reached them, they would already leave. But Kisame could tell that he was getting closer... and closer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We finally found you," Dosu said, alarming Sakura. "Looks like you don't have to keep watch anymore. I mean what's the point after you've been discovered? Now, wake Sasuke up; we want to fight him." Sakura didn't move but her trembling hand edged towards her shuriken holster.

"What do you really want here?" Sakura yelled. "I know you didn't come here for a scroll; Orochimaru probably told you guys to do this, right?" Their eyes widened. _What is Orochimaru planning? _Dosu thought. _He shouldn't have told her his name._ "You shouldn't talk to us like that," Zaku smirked. "First, I'm gonna kill this girl and then, I'm gonna kill Sasuke."

They quickly dodged Sakura's traps and came towards her, aiming to kill. Fortunately, Lee appeared and kicked all three of them in the face: "**Leaf Hurricane.**" They fell to the ground while Lee appeared in front of Sakura, leaves blowing. "The name's Rock Lee," he introduced. "The handsome Devil of Konoha; you guys are finished."

Dosu handed the earth scroll to Zaku. "You can take Sasuke," he told him. "It looks like I need to deal with Bushy Eyebrows here. Not to mention that useless girl behind him." He came at Lee, who simply pulled earth from under him, and therefore, blocking Dosu's attack. _He has great physical strength, _Sakura thought as she saw Lee do that.

"I will finish this quickly," Lee said and disappeared. He kicked Dosu in the air, re-appeared behind him, and wrapped his bandages around him. As they fell together to the ground, Zaku pushed sound waves into the earth to break Dosu's fall. Lee was sent flying to the side as a result, though he quickly rebounded.

After that, the battle became one-sided since Lee had gotten tired from using the First Gate and Primary Lotus. That and Dosu's sound device had together made Lee vomit and he had eventually fell to the side of the clearing, unmoving. While Sakura had tried to hit Dosu with kunai, he blocked them and told his teammate, Kin, to deal with Sakura.

It had been easy for Kin since she easily caught Sakura and had held her by the hair. After coming to terms with being a shinobi, Sakura had cut through her pink hair with her kunai. Then, she effectively used the Replacement Jutsu and managed to lightly wound Zaku. Since Team 10 was present, they eventually entered the battle.

"Ino-Shika-Cho," they chorused. Shikamaru used his Shadow Imitation Jutsu, while Choji used his Expansion Jutsu against Zaku. Ino used her Mind Transfer Jutsu on Kin and began attacking her teammates. Zaku found out and he began to attack Kin, holding her by the throat. Then, three shuriken came at Zaku, causing him to back away.

"Hey," Dosu called to Team 9 on the tree. "Are you also gonna join here or are you gonna stay up there the entire day?"

"Tenten let's deal with these posers and get Lee," Neji said to his teammate. They came down from the tree and were about to face the two when they all detected someone behind them. All seven of them turned to see Sasuke, his Mangekyou Sharingan flaring in his eyes.

_Those eyes, _Dosu thought. _Is this the power Orochimaru wanted from Sasuke? _"Oh look," Zaku said. "It looks like the Uchiha hero has woken up." Sasuke turned to face him before he yelled to Sakura, "Sakura, who did this to you?"

"Oh that'd be me," Zaku said. "It was so fun just punching the heck out of this useless meat bag. She's so weak she-" In a flash, Sasuke appeared beside him. As Zaku tried to activate his waves, Sasuke had already disappeared from sight. Zaku felt his hands being pulled out from behind him, "Let me go, I'm sorry for what I did."

"You seem very proud of these arms," Sasuke said. "You're gonna lose one of them, though." With that, he dislocated Zaku's left arm. After Sasuke kicked him, Zaku plummeted through the air. He began to scream loudly, "AHHHHHHH!" Sasuke's eyes turned darker and his Mangekyou Sharingan began to spin wildly,

To everyone else, he disappeared from sight and re-appeared in front of Zaku. Crouching down, Sasuke looked at Zaku and made eye-contact. _Tsukuyomi, _Sasuke put Zaku inside his genjutsu. Looking at his eyes, Zaku gave a final, loud scream before he slumped to the ground. "D-did you kill him?" Dosu asked.

Sasuke glared at him and said, "You're next!" Then, he gave a shout of pain and collapsed to the ground, holding his eyes, causing Team 10 to get him away from Dosu, who began to approach Zaku. _He's in a genjutsu, _Dosu realized as he checked Zaku's condition. _And a strong one at that; it must have been the result of that new Sharingan._

"You're strong, Sasuke," he called, surprising him. Dosu held out his earth scroll before passing it to Sasuke, who caught it. "For now, we are leaving. We underestimated you and your friends but we got what we needed to know. The next time, however, we will not hesitate in crushing you." Having said that, he gathered up Zaku and Kin before leaving the scene.

_Sasuke Uchiha, _Neji thought, looking at Sasuke. _He's stronger than I thought; I didn't know the Uchiha clan were so powerful. And that doujutsu... _At that moment, Naruto woke up. He looked around, confused that he was there. "Hey," he said. "What am I doing here?" Then, he remembered the grass ninja and called out, "EVERYBODY GET DOWN! THE GRASS NINJA IS HERE!"

"Oh it's Naruto," Sakura noticed that her blonde teammate had gotten up. Ino was muttering about how Naruto was so lazy. Then, Choji poked Naruto in the head, causing him to look up. "Glad you could join us," Shikamaru said sarcastically. "Had a nice sleep, Naruto? Geez, you're a drag." Naruto's eyebrow ticked but then he saw Sakura's new hair.

"WHAT," he exclaimed as he raced to Sakura. "Sakura, dude what happened to your hair?"

"Oh this?" she said, thinking of an excuse. "I'm trying out a new look, that's all." Naruto calmed down; he had thought that someone had attacked her and she had to cut her hair to escape. He let out a breath of relief before looking at Shikamaru and Choji. "What about you guys?" he asked. "What's your story?"

"Explaining to you would be too troublesome," the lazy Nara said. Choji nodded before he began to talk to Shikamaru about soon getting a scroll. Tenten was telling Lee about listening more when Naruto came up to them, "Hey, I know you, Bushy brows!" He turned and his face came in contact with Sakura's fist.

"You'd better not say anything bad about Lee," she yelled as she sent Naruto flying backwards. The blonde fell to the ground, holding his cheek. _What in the world happened when I was out? _he thought, confused. "That Naruto is way out of the loop," Shikamaru said. "So far out of the loop he probably doesn't know there is a loop," Choji commented.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yugito kicked the Ame shinobi in the face. "These guys are so boring," she yelled. "I wanna fight some strong guys not these pests." Omoi and Karui nodded when she said that. "I wonder if we can handle that though," Omoi said, causing Karui to punch him in the face. "Shut up, you depressed pervert," she yelled to him.

"Why pervert? _That _time was just an accident. I didn't purposely touch your-" he was punched in the face again as Karui glared at him. "If you mention that in front of Yugito-sama," she glared at him, "I will castrate you!" They began running around, causing Yugito to sigh.

_I sensed some Bijuu chakra some time ago, _she thought. _It must've been Gaara or Naruto; I wonder who the opponent must have been to get him to use that._

_**There are some suppressed chakras here, **_Matatabi supplied. _**Some of them here are purposely keeping their chakra levels low. Maybe it is some part of the test?**_

_I don't think so, _Yugito shook her head. _There is some greater plot going around here._

_**You should focus on becoming chunin, **_Matatabi said. Yugito gave a mental nod before calling out to her teammates, "Come on, we should continue. These guys don't have any heaven scrolls."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_YES, _Kisame thought. _I've found him. _He had finally located Shukaku and his two unfortunate teammates. And adding to his advantage, they were right beside a stream of water. As he hid in the bushes, Kisame came up with a plan to defeat the three; he would quickly take out the two and then defeat Shukaku. Using the Sealing Scroll, he would seal the jinchuuriki before going to help Itachi and Konan with the Nibi and Kyuubi.

_I'm only at 50 percent power, _Kisame thought. _I can't hold back against them; I have to prevent the jinchuuriki from transforming completely into the Bijuu. _Then, he shot out of the leaves and came before the three Sand ninja. "Who are you?" Temari asked as she took her fan. "You won't get our scroll," Kankuro grinned as he took his puppet out.

"I'm not interested in you pests," Kisame grinned at Gaara. "I'm only interested in Shukaku here."

Temari and Kankuro gasped while Gaara looked at Kisame, smirking madly. "You want Mother?" he asked slowly. "You won't get her but Mother wants your blood." Kisame grinned before he disappeared in a burst of speed. As the three looked around, Kisame appeared behind Kankuro and knocked him out by a well-placed punch.

As the other two turned, Kisame had already gone and re-materialized behind Temari. He did the same thing to her. "Good," Gaara smiled. "You took care of those weaklings. I would have done it myself but you saved me the trouble, stranger." Kisame raised an eyebrow. _This kid's Bijuu has made him completely nuts, _he noticed.

"Let's begin," Kisame called. Quickly making several hand-seals, he yelled, "**Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu.**" A blue shark rose out of the water and came at Gaara, who had sand coming out of his gourd. The result was that the sand became wet and fell on the floor. Gaara realized this and backed away. _So he realizes that his sand is useless to my water, _Kisame grinned.

"Don't get too cocky," Gaara said. "**Sand Drizzle.**" Large orbs of sand began falling from the sky. Kisame started to dodge them but was hit by him, causing him to gasp. Then, he turned into water. _He did a Replacement with a water clone, _Gaara noticed. The orbs continued to fall but Kisame had returned and yelled, "**Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave.**" There was an uproar in water as the entire clearing became submerged.

Gaara had been making head-signs when Kisame had done his. "**Desert Suspension,**" he yelled, causing him to jump on a cloud of sand. He looked over the submerged valley and tried to locate Kisame. "You missed me," a voice rang out. Gaara's turned around to see Kisame jump out of the water and kicked Gaara in the face, cracking his sand armour and sending him flying through the air.

"You're done for, Shukaku," Kisame laughed. "**Water Style: Ten Feeding Sharks.**" Out of the water, ten ferocious water sharks came out and assaulted Gaara. The red-haired jinchuuriki crashed against into the land which had now dried up. He started to get up but Kisame appeared before him and grabbed his neck, slamming him into the wall. "Capture of the Shukaku; complete," the blue-skinned devil said.

Then, his eyes widened and there was a fast action, sending Kisame crashing into the water. Gaara began to laugh as the right side of his body became covered in sand and his right arm became a smaller version of Shukaku's arm. "Well, well," Kisame stood on the water with his chakra. "So you've finally come out, Shukaku?"

Gaara laughed again before charging at Kisame, faster than before. "**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough,**" Gaara yelled, sending a blast of wind at Kisame, who just laughed. "Your wind is nothing compared to my water," the blue-skinned man said. "**Water Style: Great Exploding Colliding Wave.**" Not only was Gaara's attack negated, the red-haired jinchuuriki was sent plummeting through the water.

_I spent too much chakra on him, _Kisame panted. He only had half of his chakra left so around a quarter of his full chakra. _I need to end this before- _He was interrupted when Gaara gave a roar and he was covered in sand. This time, both sides of his body were turned and Gaara had become a miniature Shukaku himself. _Shit, _Kisame cursed.

Gaara charged at Kisame, who quickly skating across the water. Gaara's sand cloud appeared and he began to chase Kisame through the water. "**Water Style: Great Wild Water Wave,**" Kisame released a large breath of water since he had come to the end of the stream. The dry parts of the valley were again submerged as Kisame skated across them, Gaara following suit.

Getting impatient, Gaara stood on his cloud before jumping down at Kisame. The two plummeted through the water, causing Kisame to smile. _Transformed jinchuuriki are so dumb, _he thought. Kisame had the advantage in water; he could easily breath and move in water while Gaara's sand-engulfed body would weigh him down. Kisame slammed into Gaara before coming in from another direction.

Eventually, Gaara's sand began to increase and Kisame knew he had no chance against a fully-transformed Gaara so he quickly decided to end the battle. He drew on his remaining chakra reserves and yelled, "**Water Style: Hundred Feeding Sharks.**" There was a large barrage in the water as the sharks all crashed into Gaara, breaking apart the sand he was starting to grow.

Back outside the water, Kisame fell to the ground as he panted hard. He was almost completely out of chakra but Gaara had passed out. The red-haired jinchuuriki had fell onto the ground, his naked chest having a lot of cuts from Kisame's technique. "It's over for you," he said to the unconscious jinchuuriki. "Now, time to seal you."

But before Kisame got out his scroll, he detected three shuriken flying at him. He barely dodged before Team 8 appeared on the scene. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata stood between Kisame and Gaara. _NO, _Kisame thought. _I can't deal with them; I'm completely out of chakra. _"Hey this guy has an earth scroll," Kiba yelled. "He looks completely exhausted so let's deal with him and take the scroll."

They came at him but Kisame stood up and blocked Kiba's punch. He turned and kicked Shino in the gut, sending him back. "Don't underestimate him," Shino said after regaining his breath. "He's strong enough to take down that sand ninja and we saw how strong he was." Hinata came forward, her Byakugan activated.

_Just my luck to meet a Hyuuga, _Kisame thought. While he could probably beat the boys in taijutsu, he stood absolutely no chance against a Hyuuga in taijutsu. Before he could move, Hinata had already tapped him in a chakra point. "**Gentle Fist,**" she yelled and Kisame was sent flying. "Nice work, Hinata," Kiba and Shino praised as they took the earth scroll.

"What should do with the sand ninjas?" Hinata asked, looking at her teammates uncertainly. Kiba just laughed while Shino pushed up his glasses. "Leave them here," Kiba said. "We don't owe them anything; besides, when they come to they'll be thanking us for saving their hides." The three of them left the scene, earth scroll in hand.

Meanwhile, Kisame's transformation had worn off after Hinata had hit him yet they hadn't noticed. _I can only stay here until Konan and Itachi come here, _he thought. He had already been out of chakra and the Hyuuga girl had completely messed up his chakra system. _I'll kill them when I can get up, _Kisame thought before he passed out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sat down, eating fried fish for breakfast. "Four days have passed since the second part of the Chunin Exams started," Sasuke prompted as he finished his meal. "Right," Sakura said, looking at her fish dejectedly. "There may not be any more heaven scrolls for us. Stupid Orochimaru had to go burn our scroll!"

"That's a cheerful thought," Sasuke said sarcastically. "Well you said it yourself," Sakura argued. "This is the fourth day since the second phase began; we've already spent 80 percent of the time we had to complete the exam. Only 13 teams had an earth scroll while Orochimaru burned ours. Then, several other teams have already gotten several heaven scrolls."

"Maybe we gave ourselves too much time to recover after the last fight," Sasuke said. "Me and Naruto are gonna fill up these water bottles; Naruto, make a shadow clone to stay here in case anything happens." Naruto nodded and left a shadow clone.

"So," Naruto prompted. "I've noticed that you've gotten a new Sharingan." Sasuke smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I've acquired the Mangekyou Sharingan; it's the next stage if you've mastered the regular Sharingan. I'm close to rivaling that Rinnegan of yours." Naruto just laughed and began to collect the water.

"What techniques do your Mangekyou Sharingan grant you?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know all of them yet," Sasuke said. "I know a few; besides, you haven't told me about what you can do with your Rinnegan so I'm not going to either. You'll see it later yourself." Naruto looked at Sasuke but simply nodded. "Can I ask you about something?" Sasuke inquired.

"Sure thing," Naruto said. "Is it something to do with our fight with Orochimaru?"

Sasuke nodded. "What was that dark element that you used? I tried to copy it but I couldn't." Naruto glared at Sasuke, who remembered his promise earlier. "You said you wouldn't try to copy my jutsu," the blonde said to Sasuke, who just mumbled an apology.

"The reason you can't copy it," Naruto said to Sasuke, "is because it's a bloodline. The Sharingan can copy jutsu from basic elements but the Rinnegan allows me to use a few specific Kekkei Genkai. These bloodlines are unique so my Rinnegan has control over their usage." Sasuke nodded as if it made sense.

"Your Rinnegan is overpowered," Sasuke muttered, thinking Naruto wouldn't hear him.

"Says the guy that has a Sharingan which can cast an irresistible genjutsu on the opponent and other skills I don't know about," Naruto said to Sasuke. "I thought you were really dead," the Uchiha said to Naruto, who just laughed.

"A guy like Orochimaru can't kill me," Naruto argued. "Until I become Hokage, nothing is gonna put me down. Believe it!" Sasuke's face suddently turned serious. "Naruto, look at Kabuto," he pointed putting his bottle down. "Is he gonna attack?" Naruto said as he put down his bottle.

They ran towards the two. "Hey, clone," Naruto yelled. "What's the reason for this? Why were you opening the earth scroll." Then, Sakura and his clone explained their idea to Naruto and Sasuke. Then, the clone disappeared. "Oh I see his plan," Naruto said as the memories came to him. "Why can't we open the scroll?"

Kabuto sighed. "The heaven and earth scrolls," he said. "If you looked inside them, they will do something to you and you will be knocked out. And by the time you wake up, this exam is over. This is what happens when you look at confidential documents. The Sandaime Hokage himself has encrypted this scroll so opening it is suicidal."

"Hey, it's Kabuto right?" Sasuke checked. "We met at the registration. Since you didn't take the earth scroll from Naruto's clone, you're also looking for the heaven scroll, huh?"

"Not really," Kabuto said, shocking the three. "I already have both heaven and earth scrolls. I was on my way to the tower to wait for my teammates when I saw Naruto and Sakura doing a big mistake. So you guys got lucky. Well, anyways, I'll see you guys later!"

"Wait," Sasuke called to him, causing him to halt. "I'll fight you for them."

"Fight me?" Kabuto turned to face him. "Are you really serious?" Up in the branches, some distance away, the Hidden Rain ninja groaned. He had been planning on catching Kabuto off guard when he headed off and steal the scrolls.

"Dead serious," Sasuke stretched on the 'dead'. Naruto sighed. _It's just like Sasuke to issue a challenge instead of taking just taking it if he wanted to, _Naruto thought on his best friend's ways of doing things. "Sasuke, he _did _save us," Sakura said.

"Shut up," Sasuke dismissed her. "This is survival; we can't play nice here. It's all about winning or losing."

"You're lying," Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "If you only cared about winning and getting the scrolls then why openly challenge me? Why not jump me when my back is turned? That's what a ninja would do. But I'm willing to help you guys, instead."

"What's the catch?" Naruto asked him with Sasuke nodding. "There's no way you're helping us to just for no reason. I mean, you've got to want something in exchange."

Kabuto laughed. "There's nothing I could want," he said. "But since I saw emo here talking like that, I've decided to help you guys get the scarce heaven scrolls. And eliminate the competition!" As he said that last bit, there was a flutter in the bushes behind him and the ninja there disappeared.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked Kabuto, who smiled at him.

"It's quite simple," he said. "We're going to go to the tower and wait for the teams to arrive there. Once they do come, you can simply gang up on them and get their heaven scroll."

"But won't they expecting that?" Sasuke asked. "This concept is not foreign; people will no doubt be expecting us to do something like this so they'll be fully prepared. In that case, we'll be playing right into their hands."

"That's a risk you have to take," Kabuto shrugged. "This is your best and only chance at getting the heaven scroll. Since this is the morning of the fourth day, most of the teams will spend the day heading towards the tower."

"Alright," Naruto spoke up, surprising his teammates. "We'll do it; it's the best we've got. My Shadow Clone Jutsu will be good in taking out multiple teams and getting their scrolls. This is also a chance to fight some adversaries that we couldn't come across."

Sasuke slowly nodded. "Alright," he also said. "If Naruto agrees with this then I guess I'll have to come. Lead the way, Kabuto, and Naruto, please put on some clothes." Apparently, Naruto had been in his boxers the entire time so he went to put on his somewhat-dry clothes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Our best chance is to ambush teams in front of the center building," Yugito said. "We can get our heaven scroll there since most of the remaining teams are headed there."

"But they'll be expecting us to do this?" Omoi added, glumly. "We could die and then, they'll be laughing since we-"

"SHUT UP," Karui punched Omoi in the face, causing him to crash into a nearby tree. "Kumo ninja are not supposed to be scared of that; we have to take risks and put our life on the line. I agree with Yugito-sama's tactic. This is the best way in getting the heaven scroll."

"If Naruto's team is smart enough," Yugito said. "They'll be there as well and I can let Nibi have some fun." Matatabi rumbled from inside her at the prospects of battling Kurama soon. "Let's get going," the three of them headed the other way towards the center of the Forest of Death.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi's Sharingan flared. He had finally gotten the Two-Tails' trail: a doused fire with several burned leaves. Then, several foot paths went towards the end of the forest. "So they're intending to ambush the other teams to get the scroll," the Uchiha prodigy realized. He would have to trail them and try to overtake them before they could get near the building. Itachi took a deep breath before following the light trail.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Konan had reached a similar conclusion. She was now beside the stream and had spotted a doused fire with burned wood. _So Naruto and his team was here, _she thought. _The most obvious conclusion was that they were heading to the building to either ambush other teams or they had both scrolls. _She would have to try to overtake them on the way to the building since she didn't want to get too close to Leaf security. Pushing chakra into her feet, Konan charged across the clearing and into the woods.


	10. Chapter 10

Okay, this is the much-wanted Naruto x Yugito chapter! Sasuke and Itachi will have a Mangekyou Sharingan sibling fight. Itachi isn't gonna tell him the truth about the Uchiha Massacre yet; that'll be after Sasuke's match in the third test. Konan is... really crazy and bloodlusted on killing Naruto. He will tell her the truth about Nagato later since she won't listen to him now. Well, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 10: **_The Forest of Death - Conclusion and the Third Test_

Team 7 and Kabuto had reached quite close to the building by the nighttime. "Alright," Naruto said. "Let's do this: **Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" The clearing they had came to were all covered in clones; Naruto made some groups and sent them out to ambush other groups. "YOSH," they yelled before disappearing in a burst of speed.

"We're gonna wait here for some teams," Kabuto supplied. "I'm sure they'll be here in a few minutes; this is the night before the third test, after all."

"Kabuto," Sasuke said. "You've already helped us a lot; you can go to the Tower now. We can handle ourselves, don't worry." A look of anger crossed Kabuto for a second before it disappeared. Only Sasuke saw that. "Okay, guys," he waved. "Take care of yourself."

"Something's wrong about that guy," Sasuke said, causing Naruto to nod. "It's weird how he helped us for no reason twice," Naruto said. "First, he stopped Sakura and my clone from opening the scroll. If he hadn't stopped us, he would've had less competition. Second, he's helped us get a heaven scroll when he didn't want anything."

Sasuke nodded before sighing. "Well," he said. "We have to focus now so we can get that heaven scroll and go to the building before dawn." The three of them nodded before they crouched, ready for combat. After a few minutes, the three of the genin felt a chill behind their backs.

As they turned, they saw the entire clearing was filled up with Rain ninjas. "Is this a clone jutsu?" Naruto asked as the three assumed the manji position. "I don't know," Sasuke said. "Remember our doujutsus are useless since clones have chakra distributed evenly within them."

Naruto quickly dodged the first one before kicking the other one in the chest. It fell to the ground and turned into mud. "An earth clone," Naruto called to Sasuke, who shook his head. Sasuke pointed to the ground and Naruto saw that the clone he had defeated had came out of the mud. "What the hell?" Naruto yelled as he dodged another clone.

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu,**" Sasuke said and let out a fireball breath. A good chunk of the Rain ninja army was burned to a crisp although a lot of them dodged. "You won't get us with that," they chuckled before charging at Sasuke.

Naruto took care of one of them when he felt a hand clasp around his mouth. As he gaged, he heard Konan's evil voice say, "Now I've got you." She led him off into the woods as Sasuke and Sakura screamed his name. After Konan took him for a while, she eventually released him before backing away.

"What's Akatsuki doing here in the exams?" Naruto asked as he got up, breathing heavily.

"Let's just say that there are a lot of jinchuuriki here," Konan said as she turned into paper. "I'm going to capture you, Uzumaki, so that your Bijuu is captured and I can have my revenge."

"I still don't get your revenge," Naruto said. "Why are you so upset at me?"

"You're the reason Nagato is dead," she explained. "He went on the last mission of his life; to use the Nine-Tails to destroy the Hidden Leaf and take it away. But your lovely Yondaime stopped that and sealed it inside you. Since the Yondaime is dead, I'll take my revenge on you."

"Wait," Naruto held up his hands. "Nagato trained-" He never finished since Konan had punched him in the face, sending him flying back. "Didn't I tell you not to speak his name?" Konan growled as she settled into a taijutsu stance. _She's stronger than before, _Naruto noted. But then again, so had he; he got up and activated his Rinnegan.

"Oh yeah," Konan smiled. "I'm also going to rip out your eyes once this is over; those were Nagato's and the Sage of the Six Paths' eyes. You don't deserve to use them!" She charged at Naruto, who saw the attack coming, and was able to dodge it.

They fought for a while after that; Konan and Naruto traded punches and kicks. She dodged his attack and kicked underneath Naruto, who simply rebounded and attacked her with a roundhouse kick. Konan turned to paper and Naruto's leg separated her body in two. She quickly attached herself and attacked Naruto, who blocked her blows precisely.

"You've improved," Konan said. "But I'm not trying my best." To prove her point, she began to pressure Naruto even more. Naruto tried to dodge her attacks, but he failed this time. They got him on his arm before she kicked him in the face, causing him to go sliding back. "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet,**" Naruto released a stream of fire at Konan.

"What a pathetic jutsu," she commented before she dashed to the side. "You'll never get me with that." Naruto then appeared in the air and threw a fuma shuriken at Konan. She easily caught the shuriken... and saw a second one. "Shadow Windmill, huh?" Konan laughed when she easily stepped the second one. "Take a look behind you, Konan," Naruto mocked.

Konan turned to see the shuriken had disappeared into a shadow clone. _He did a Transformation Jutsu, _Konan thought. "**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.**" Konan was catapulted into the air by a gust of wind, causing her to slam into a nearby tree. She slumped to the ground before starting to get up slowly.

"You got me there, Naruto," she smirked. "It'll be fun destroying you, Kyuubi." Naruto just shook his head and wondered how long it would take to get rid of this crazy lady. That's when three ninja entered the clearing. Yugito spotted Naruto and smiled, "Well, hello there, cutie."

Naruto's face went red as Yugito laughed. "Just kidding," she said. "I wanted to fight you and see your powers. It's a bonus if you give us your heaven scroll."

"Actually," Naruto came down from the tree. "We're also looking for a heaven scroll; we lost ours in a fight against a creepy snake guy but got an earth scroll later against some sound guys."

"Oh," Karui said. "Well, then it's just the fight our Yugito-sama wants with you. Get into position and fight now!"

"Wait, what?" Naruto yelled. "No way; I don't even know your Yugito-sama. Why does she wanna fight me?"

"Hang on a moment," Konan yelled. "I'm going to fight Naruto here since I have better business with him."

"A fangirl?" Yugito looked at her. "Just go away; Naruto and I are dating so you can leave. Is that a good reason?"

"W-what?" Konan said. "I don't care if you're dating him; I'm going to have my revenge on him."

"Oh so you're not a fangirl," Yugito sighed as he finger-nails elongated into long claws. "Well then, I lied about dating him. But you're in the way. I'll just get rid of you." Naruto began to get a brilliant idea. He could get Yugito and her team to fight Konan while he used the diversion to get away. She would probably die since Konan was an Akatsuki member but he couldn't stay here any longer.

"Please help me," Naruto pleaded. "She's been annoying me for the past three hours. She's been making me fight her when she's really strong." Yugito's ears perked up when she heard the word 'strong'. Besides, she could get a heaven scroll in the process.

"Alright, cutie," Yugito said, causing Naruto to blush. "Move aside. I'll take care of her." Naruto nodded and said, "Thank you. I'm in your debt." Then, she growled at him and smirked, "Don't think I'm done with you; when this is over, we're gonna have a battle."

Naruto nodded and stood back, waiting for Konan and Yugito to start fighting. Karui and Omoi eventually joined the battle, so Naruto took that as a clear to escape. Smiling, he quietly left the plane where the four powers were colliding. _My clones have already gotten a heaven scroll, _Naruto smiled gleefully. _And Sasuke and Sakura probably took care of those Ame ninja. Good thing I got rid of Konan, she was so troublesome! _In the building, Shikamaru sneezed.

Then, Naruto was kicked to the floor. A man appeared in front of him. "Oh no you don't," he shook his head before throwing a kunai at Naruto. The blonde rebounded and dodged the kunai before groaning, "Oh man, why is everyone after me tonight?"

"You have a very valuable beast inside you," Itachi explained, causing Naruto to give another groan.

"Just how many of you Akatsuki are there? And who are you?" Naruto asked as he settled into a taijutsu stance.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha," Itachi fell into the Uchiha interceptor style. "You're on the same team as my brother."

"Oh you're the guy that Sasuke wants to kill," Naruto said, recognizing Itachi. "The same guy that wiped out the entire Uchiha clan four years ago and is a missing ninja since then."

Itachi nodded. "I joined Akatsuki after that," he said. "And now I will not hold back." As he said that, Itachi activated the Sharingan and dashed at Naruto. Bringing out his Rinnegan, Naruto barely dodged Itachi's swipe before yelling, "**Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder.**" Itachi quickly went through some hand signs and yelled, "**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.**"

Naruto's attack was cancelled out and the blonde was hit by the gust. He slid backwards but rebounded off a tree. Itachi and Naruto traded a few punches but it was clear that Itachi was winning their fight. _This is nothing like fighting Konan, _Naruto remarked as he punched in the gut by Itachi before being kicked aside. _So this is the guy that eliminated the Uchiha clan?_

"Man, you're good," Naruto wiped the blood off his mouth. "I can't hold back against you then." Itachi nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened then again, they looked a bit different. _This must be the Mangekyou Sharingan, _Naruto thought. He quickly lowered and focused on Itachi's feet; then, he dashed to the side as the ground where he had been standing erupted in black flames.

"**Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal,**" Naruto yelled as he absorbed Itachi's black flames. Itachi's eyes widened before he went back into his taijutsu style. _This boy can use the Rinnegan? _Itachi thought, impressed. From the Naka Shrine, he had read about the Sage of the Six Paths and his legendary powers from the Rinnegan. _It will take longer than I imagined to defeat him, _Itachi thought.

Then, the Uchiha prodigy detected something coming towards him so he moved backwards. Naruto also turned and yelled, "It's Sasuke!" Itachi was immediately filled with dread; he cared for his little brother and now would have to fight him.

"ITACHI UCHIHA," Sasuke yelled. "COME AND FACE ME, NOW! YOU TOLD ME TO RUN AWAY AND THEN COME BEFORE YOU WHEN I HAVE THE SAME EYES!" As Itachi and Naruto looked on, Sasuke closed his eyes, before opening them to reveal his new Sharingan.

"How about this, Itachi?" Sasuke smirked as he saw Itachi's expression. "Now, let's do this; I'm going to crush you now. Naruto, get away from him. This is now my battle." Naruto nodded and deactivated his Rinnegan; he moved back and looked at the battle between Sasuke and Itachi; the two siblings with the legendary Sharingan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You're good," Yugito said as she exchanged blows with Konan. The paper ninja had good reflexes and was able to fight with Yugito on par. After they had first began fighting, Omoi and Karui had been knocked out in the beginning with little to no effort. Since then, Konan and Yugito had been fighting against each other; claws against paper.

"So are you, Nibi," Konan said as she moved away from Yugito. "But you don't stand a chance; I've been trained to handle jinchuuriki like you. You have no chance against an S-rank ninja like me; I haven't used any ninjutsu yet."

"You won't separate me from Matatabi," Yugito growled. "I haven't used ninjutsu either and if I wanted, I could crush you by using my Bijuu's power."

"Oh please," Konan yelled. "You're just all talk and absolutely no substance."

"Says the paper girl," Yugito smirked. Konan roared before charging at Yugito, who simply blocked her clumsy strike. _You should never get angry, _Bee-sama had told her. _It makes yo strikes weak, just like a mean streak. _While she didn't ge the rapping, Yugito understood that she needed to never lose her cool and try to make her opponents do just that.

"**Mouse Hairball,**" Yugito said and the yarnball in her hand became surrounded by blue fire. She applied shape transformation to it and it looked like a mouse made of hair. It dashed towards Konan before she could react and got singed on multiple places. Her disguise was also wrecked, revealing a bit of her Akatsuki disguise.

"I've had it with you," Konan yelled. "Let's see you deal with this, Nibi. **Paper Ocean-**" She never finished since Yugito had smashed her fist into the Rain ninja's mouth, sending her tumbling back. "You know," Yugito said, smirking evilly. "It's time to show you my transformed state." As she said that, a red cloak of chakra appeared over her body. From her back, two tails sprouted out.

"This is only Version 1," Yugito said. Konan got up and prepared to face her when Yugito disappeared from her sight. She re-appeared from the side and slammed her claws into Konan's side, "**Cat Claw.**" As Konan yelled, Yugito slammed her fist into the latter's mouth. Then, she dug Konan into the ground before landing the final blow.

But Konan simply dispersed in paper. _Her paper clone, _Yugito realized. She turned to see Konan standing with a paper disk in her hand. "**Paper Chakram,**" she yelled before throwing the object at Yugito. Yugito's chakra cloak hardened and settled into her skin, making it look red and burning. "Version 2," she disappeared again and flashed across the battlefield. _Her speed has increased, _Konan thought.

"**Cat Claw,**" Yugito yelled as she smashed her claws into Konan's back. The woman erupted into paper again. _Another paper clone, _Yugito thought irritably. She heard Matatabi warn her to move away but she didn't make it in time. "**Paper Ocean Jutsu,**" Konan yelled and there was a large explosion.

When the smoke cleared, the ground had been split in half and Yugito was at the bottom. She had reverted back from her transformed state and was knocked out. Konan let a breath of relief; she had been losing a lot of chakra fighting the jinchuuriki. But now she would have to chase down that blonde but Itachi had probably gotten him so there was no rush.

Konan went to the bottom of the fissure and began to summon the scroll so she could seal Yugito. Then, the Kumo jinchuuriki became a spark of lightning. _A lightning clone! _Konan thought, having fallen for it. Yugito rose out of the ground and pushed her claws into Konan's shoulder, drawing blood since Konan had deactivated her Dance of the Shikigami.

As Konan fell to the ground, Yugito went through a few hand-signs before yelling, "**Lightning Style: False Darkness.**" A spear of lightning appeared in her hand, which she shot at Konan. The Ame ninja was electrocuted before she was knocked out. Yugito fell onto a knee, exhausted. She had run out of chakra and it take a while before she could chase the blonde.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"To think that you would awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan," Itachi laughed. "You've gotten stronger, my foolish little brother."

"I've spent the last four years hating you, despising you," Sasuke said. "And now I have the same eyes as you; I will show you just how strong I've become." They faced off against each. _The two brothers, _Naruto thought poetically. _Brought together by fate. _Back in the building, Neji gave a sneeze, surprising people.

Sasuke charged at Itachi, punching at him. Itachi dodged the blow and kicked underneath Sasuke, who leaped over his older brother. Itachi threw a few shuriken at Sasuke, who simply dodged them with ease and returned his own. Itachi did the same and the two locked each other; Sasuke blocking Itachi's fist and Itachi blocking Sasuke's fist.

"You _have _gotten stronger," Itachi admitted. "But you cannot defeat me, Sasuke. You surely know that, foolish brother." Sasuke growled and the two released each other and moved back. Focusing, Sasuke looked at Itachi hard. _Amaterasu, _Sasuke released a strand of black flames at Itachi. The latter's eyes widened before he returned with his own, _Amaterasu!_

The two attacks collided against each other, flames roaring. After their attacks were negated, the two siblings crashed against each and began another taijutsu battle. _So this is how an Uchiha fights, _Naruto thought. They were hard to follow with his normal eyes so Naruto had activated his Rinnegan and found he couldn't copy the Amaterasu jutsu.

"I want answers," Sasuke said as Itachi dodged his blow. Ignoring him, Itachi kicked at Sasuke, who sidestepped before repeating, "Answer me, Itachi! Why did you eliminate the Uchiha clan?"

"I told you," Itachi replied, punching at Sasuke. "I did it to test my capabilities and I spared you since you were the only person that had the potential to match me in combat."

"Right," Sasuke scoffed as he deflected Itachi's punch. "You expect me to believe you took down the _entire _clan because you wanted to test your abilities? How stupid do you think I am?" Itachi's eyes widened for a second before he resumed his taijutsu fight with Sasuke. _He's grown up a lot, _Itachi noted. _I never expected him to question my lie regarding the Uchiha Massacre._

"Tell me something," Itachi said, backing away from Sasuke. "How did you awaken your Mangekyou Sharingan? I hardly think that you killed your best friend like I said."

"I would never do something _you _told me to," Sasuke scowled. "Apparently, Orochimaru ambushed my team and took out Naruto first. I thought that he had... died so I snapped and got these eyes." Itachi's eyes widened and betrayed his emotions. _Orochimaru is here in this exam, _Itachi thought.

"He wants your eyes," Itachi told Sasuke, who looked confused. "Orochimaru is obsessed with the Sharingan; he tried to get mine but I took care of him. Now, he wants to get your Sharingan. Wait, did he put the Cursed Seal on you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "He tried to bite my neck or something," he said. "But Sakura stopped him before he could; after that I became unconscious. Now, fight me!" Sasuke charged at Itachi, who just closed his eyes before saying, "Sorry, Sasuke, but I have to do something now."

Sasuke skidded to a halt. _He's neglecting me again, _he realized. All those years ago, he had tried getting Itachi's attention but his brother would always flick his forehead and say, "Sorry, Sasuke, but I have to do something now." And even after he gained the Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi still had no time for him! "I will rip you to pieces," Sasuke roared as he charged at Itachi.

Itachi looked at Sasuke in the eyes and smiled, "I'll see you later, Sasuke." As they made eye-contact, Itachi's genjutsu took place. _Tsukuyomi, _Sasuke's eyes fluttered and closed as Sasuke fell to the ground. "Hey," Naruto got off his rock. "What have you done to Sasuke?"

"He's an Uchiha," Itachi said. "He'll be awake in an hour or so; while my genjutsu is one of the strongest in the world, Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan gives him some resistance to it. If his will is strong, he should be awake in an hour or so."

"But why did you stop the fight?" Naruto asked, confused. "Didn't you want to take care of Sasuke so you could capture me?"

"That's true," Itachi admitted. "But something more important has come to my attention: Orochimaru. While I may be a missing ninja, I need to get in contact with the Hokage so I can inform him about this. My role as an Akatsuki member will have to wait. This is a bye for now, Naruto Uzumaki. Take care of my brother; he has been... misled." Having said that, Itachi left in a burst of speed.

Naruto gathered Sasuke's body and activated his Rinnegan. He detected Sakura's chakra somewhere to the west so he took off there. Naruto also instructed his shadow clone to meet him there so they could retrieve the heaven scroll. Since the building was not much distance away, they would get there in ten minutes or so.

In a few minutes, Naruto located Sakura sleeping. _She must've fell asleep waiting for us, _the blonde realized. He felt bad for Sakura; she had no special powers or abilities aside from the basic Clone, Transformation, and Replacement Jutsus. While Sakura _was _smart, knowing all of the information she knew wouldn't actually help her do those in reality.

Most of shadow clones had dispersed and in another minute, the clone with the scroll arrived. "Do you have it?" Naruto asked it. "Yep, I've got it here, boss," the clone said. It took out the heaven scroll from its ninja pack. Naruto examined the scroll to see if it was fake.

"Which team did you beat to get this?" Naruto asked. "It was a team from the Hidden Waterfall," the clone said. It disappeared in smoke once Naruto dismissed it. He turned and gently woke up Sakura, who shrieked when she say Sasuke's condition. "What happened to him?" she said, tears forming in his eyes. Naruto rolled his eyes and said, "He's in a genjutsu; he should be fine in an hour or so."

Naruto then made a few shadow clones before leaving for the building. Since he was carrying Sasuke, he had the clones scout for any trouble or incoming threats. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any trouble and managed to get to the building by morning. As they opened the door and got inside, Naruto set Sasuke on the floor and crashed down beside him.

"Come on, Naruto," Sakura said. "We need to open the scrolls now." Naruto shook his head and said, "I'm too tired. I've been fighting too much and I feel like sleeping." Sakura sighed and gave him half an hour to sleep. She looked at the two while they slept; they both had lots of cuts and bruises and did seem worse for wear. But Sakura thought back to what happened earlier.

FLASHBACK

_"Who kidnapped Naruto?" Sakura asked Sasuke, who just shrugged and continued fighting the Ame clones. "I don't know, Sakura," Sasuke said irritably. "We need to take these guys done fast to rescue him!" Sakura tried to help Sasuke by throwing shuriken and kunai but he did most of the fighting._

_When they had taken care of half of the army, Sasuke collapsed to the floor yelling. "I-I can't s-see well," the Uchiha said, holding his eyes. Sakura looked alarmed and tried to fight the Ame ninja, only ending up on the floor. "You guys are so weak," one of them muttered._

_"Who you callin' weak?" Sasuke stood up before his eyesight wavered again. __**What's happening to him? **__Sakura had thought, alarmed. To Sasuke, the world was flashing in his eyes and there was pain behind them. Then, one of the clones kicked him in the gut, sending him plummeting back._

_"SASUKE," Sakura had screamed. Then, Sasuke had gotten up, lips bleeding, and his eyes had the Sharingan in them like Kakashi-sensei's. "__**Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu,**__" he yelled, and released a wave of fire which engulfed all of the remaining Ame ninja and burned them._

_Sasuke fell to the floor, holding his eyes. "Sasuke," Sakura said, holding him. "What's happening to you?" He shook his head and had told her, "I don't know, Sakura. I really don't know. But my eyes hurt and I can't see you that well anymore." She had almost begun to cry._

_"I need to help Naruto," Sasuke got up, coming out of her embrace. "He needs me right now and I can't leave him. Sakura, stay here. I'm sure Naruto's clones will come here if they get a heaven scroll." With that, he had left her. Some time later, sleep overtook Sakura and she fell asleep._

FLASHBACK END

_Sasuke's going blind, _Sakura thought panicked. _Is it because of that new Sharingan he used against Orochimaru and those sound guys earlier? _She quickly calmed herself down since Naruto would have told her if something like that was happening to Sasuke. Around half an hour later, Sasuke woke up; he groaned and rubbed his eyes before getting up.

"Sasuke," Sakura exclaimed happily as her hero woke up. "Sakura," Sasuke said before he sprang to his feet. "Where's Itachi? I was fighting him then..." He had awoken Naruto too, who sat up and looked at Sasuke before explaining it to him.

"So he left to go to the Hokage?" Sasuke asked, getting a nod from Naruto. "DARN," the Uchiha survivor yelled. "I missed my chance at killing him and that bastard put me under a genjutsu of all things. He couldn't even... he couldn't even kill me."

Sakura was about to open her mouth but Naruto just shook his head. If Sakura asked about Itachi, Sasuke would burst at her and she would start crying. They didn't need that now. "Sasuke," Naruto said, causing him to look at the blonde. "I know you missed your chance at killing Itachi but the Hokage will probably imprison him or try to. No doubt, Itachi will escape and then you can have another chance."

"Yeah," Sasuke's face lit up. "You're right; I will get another chance if that happens." The two of them laughed with Naruto pointing out that Sasuke wasn't that level-headed while Sasuke just called him a bigger dobe. Sakura smiled as she saw the two get along. It was as if they had a friendship between them and Naruto was probably the only person Sasuke would listen to.

"Hey, we should open the scrolls now," Sakura suggested. They nodded; Naruto opened the heaven scroll while Sasuke opened the earth scroll. There was a summoning sign on them. _A summoning jutsu, _Naruto and Sasuke realized; they each threw their scroll away and got ready if it was an enemy.

Out of the smoke, Iruka appeared. "Hello there, guys," he smiled at them. "Long time no see. You guys have just made it in time to pass! I'm here to tell you guys about the Third Test; I'm a messenger you could say."

"A messenger? What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused.

"First," he said, looking at them proudly. "Congratulations in passing the second phase of the Chunin Exams. I would treat you to some Ichiraku Ramen but..." He trailed off since Naruto hugged him, causing the others to chuckle. "Still the same Naruto, I see," Iruka laughed.

"But what was the point of the second exam?" Sakura asked, not seeing it.

"To see if we could resist the urge to see what was inside the scrolls," Naruto said, shocking the others. "I found that out after Kabuto stopped my clone from opening it." Sasuke also nodded while Iruka smiled, impressed. _He figured out the meaning of the test, _Iruka realized. _He's matured a lot._

"That's right," Iruka said. "Some other students found that out the hard way; in case they tried to peek, we were to knock them. This exam is a perfect example of what chunin face every day; we have to carry very important documents between villages. In that case, we can't simply start opening it and begin reading the information. Shinobi are supposed to have the will to resist these urges and see what's ahead."

"Makes sense," Sasuke said. "Now, what's the third exam about? You mentioned you were a messenger so let's get back on track."

"Sharp as always, Sasuke," Iruka picked up the scrolls. "But before I tell you that, my other duty is inform you guys of what the writing on the wall means. Well, to make it short, these are qualities that a chunin should improve: for example, if your weakness is intellect, Naruto, then make sure you learn all of the information that you need to for missions and boost your knowledge." Sakura began laughing when Naruto's eyebrow rose uncertainly.

"And, Sakura," Iruka said sternly, causing her to stop laughing. "If your weakness lies in physical strength, then make sure you train everybody and get stronger for missions. You can ask people or your comrades to train with you so you're at the top."

"I guess I'm just perfect then?" Sasuke said, smiling at himself. Naruto, Iruka, and Sakura sweat-dropped, causing Iruka to say, "They don't have it here but if your weakness lies in having a large ego and underestimating opponents, Sasuke, then make sure you train with a stronger opponent to become modest." The Uchiha stopped smiling and rubbed his head while Naruto and Sakura chuckled.

"Alright, then," Iruka said to them. "Now, it's time for the third exam; I'm going to lead the way to the stadium. You'll be told what to do there. Now, let's go!" They nodded and followed Iruka to the Third Test.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Good job, Itachi," Sarutobi smiled as Itachi gave him all of the details on Akatsuki. "I wouldn't have thought that Madara would have told you three to come here to the Chunin Exams. It's bad enough that Orochimaru has set his sights on young Sasuke."

"That's true," Itachi said. "But I am also surprised that you already knew about Madara and Orochimaru? Care to explain, old man." Sarutobi smirked; to him Itachi was like a surrogate grandson and he had tried his best to avoid Itachi becoming a spy for Konoha.

"For Orochimaru," Sarutobi puffed. "Anko had already encountered him in the forest after his battle with Team 7. So she reported to me and I know he's planning something big for the last phase of the Chunin Exams. I have told our guards and we will begin preparations after the Third Test."

"And what about Madara?" Itachi asked, interested. "I would never have thought that you would already know that _the _Madara Uchiha is still alive after fighting your teacher's brother, the Shodaime."

Sarutobi puffed some smoke before telling Itachi about Naruto. He explained how Naruto had awakened his Rinnegan and what happened when the Kyuubi had attacked the Hidden Leaf twelve years ago. Sarutobi told the amazed Itachi about Jiraiya's student, Nagato, who also had the Rinnegan, and had his chakra sealed in Naruto by Minato so the boy could learn about his doujutsu.

"That's why he was so strong," Itachi realized. "He was keeping up with me with no problem and is even superior to my brother, who has recently unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Listen, Itachi," Sarutobi began. "Sasuke is becoming more and more obsessed with revenge; while it does not seem likely, there is a chance he will go to Orochimaru for power. Orochimaru, on the other hand, only cares about obtaining the Sharingan."

"What's your point, old man?" Itachi asked Sarutobi, who just smiled. "Ever the impatient one, Itachi," Sarutobi paused. "I want you to tell Sasuke the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre and teach him how to use his Mangekyou Sharingan. I also want you to leave the Akatsuki since I already have all of your information on it; you will come to Konoha and teach Sasuke."

"What about the other members that are here?" Itachi asked. "They're in the Forest of Death, recovering-"

"I already have ANBU looking for them," Sarutobi reassured. "You've had hard time, Itachi. Being a spy for four years is nothing easy, after all. I want Sasuke to walk on the right path and you are the only person he will listen to other than Naruto."

"Is Minato's son really that important to Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

"Naruto is the reason why Sasuke has even awakened the Mangekyou according to you," Sarutobi reminded. "His appreciation for Naruto is so great that the prospect of killing him will drive your brother to no end. Now, make sure you get some rest and leave Akatsuki. Are you in their base, now?"

Itachi shook his head. "I am manipulating this body from a rock," he explained. "It's some distance away from the Akatsuki and I can slip away before they notice." Sarutobi noticed before leaving with all of the jonin for the Third Test.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright," Sarutobi said to the assembled teams. "You have successfully completed the Second Test of the Chunin Exams. Now, you will begin the Third Test. But before that, you need to know something very important. These Chunin Exams have a true purpose; battles between the shinobi of the Elemental Nations is actually the battle between the nations themselves."

Everyone gasped as they realized what this meant. "Indeed," Sarutobi continued. "In fact, these exams allow shinobi to have the pride of their nations and fight against other shinobi. Many ninjas will be called to enter in these exams; they are looking to pick shinobi that will work for them in the future. In that case, you need to do your best in these exams and know that you carry the pride of your own nation."

Gaara, who had arrived at the building a day ago, scoffed and said, "Enough, already. Just tell me the details of the test. I can handle anything you throw at me." Sarutobi smiled and nodded, "Good to see you're so confident. Well, then, without further ado, you will get to know about the Third Test."

As he said that, Hayate appeared. "I am Hayate Gekko," he introduced. "I will be the proctor of the Third Test of the Chunin Exams this year. Now, I will explain to you the reason behind the Third Test; it's quite simple. This is to see which of you will enrol in the Fourth Test, the final phase, and which of you... won't."

The remaining teams began talking amongst themselves but Sarutobi yelled, "SILENCE!" They all became quiet and Hayate continued with frequent coughs in between, "Many important officials will attend the Fourth Test; they only want to see the best. Therefore, this Third Test is a preliminary to the Fourth Test; if any of you feel that you are not in top physical condition, now is your chance to fall out."

As soon as he said that, Sasuke clutched at his eyes in pain. His eyesight was beginning to waver again. _Shit, _he cursed. _This can't be happening now; that battle against Itachi shouldn't have worn me out this much. _Sasuke could feel the burning sensation behind his eyes as it lost its focus, everything becoming blurry. He concentrated and it became normal again, only to disappear with a blast of pain.

"Sasuke," Sakura said. _I knew this would happen, _she thought. "Listen to me, you've got to quit." Sasuke's eyes widened as she said that. "You've been like this ever since that fight with Orochimaru," Sakura continued. "And it's getting worse. You need to see a doctor-"

"Shut up, Sakura," Sasuke hissed. "I don't need anybody's help for this; I'm just tired from using the Sharingan. And I'm definitely not going to forfeit; this is my chance to test my strength against all these peope. Gaara, Lee, Neji and especially you... Naruto." Naruto looked at Sasuke, impressed by the Uchiha's determination.

As the teams talked, Kabuto immediately spoke up. "I would like to fall out," he spoke, surprising all of the Konoha ninja, especially Team 7. "I'm sorry guys but I can't go on; my body is already worn out and I've lost hearing in my left eye. I just can't go on."

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. _This is the same boy that has taken the past four exams, _he realized. _Why does he always fall out on the Third Test? There's something fishy going on... I need to ask Itachi about this later. _"Very well," Sarutobi said. "While it is sad, you must leave us now since the Third Test will begin now if there aren't any more people withdrawing."

Nobody else said anything so Sarutobi ordered Hayate to begin the exams. Kabuto walked out, pushing up his glasses and wondering if Sasuke and Naruto would make it. _It'll be interesting, all right, _he thought, smirking evilly as he left the stadium.

"I won't let you do this to yourself," Sakura said as she raised her hand. In an instant, Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled it down. "You can't do anything about this, Sakura," Sasuke said in her face. "So just stay out of my business, alright? I don't need your help. Just go away!" As he said that, she had tears forming in her eyes.

_She should realize that Sasuke doesn't want consolence, _Naruto thought. While it was admirable that Sakura cared for her teammate, she should respect that this was what Sasuke wanted. "Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said, causing the Uchiha to look at him. "Don't push it too far; even if you are determined. Alright?" Sasuke just nodded.

As Hayate explained the rules, Yugito sighed in anticipation. Finally, she would get that one-on-one match with Naruto without purple-haired women getting in her way. Besides, she would have to admit that Naruto was really cute! But she could see a Hyuuga girl looking at Naruto, poking her fingers together.

_She has a crush on him, I guess, _Yugito thought. For some reason, that irked her slightly. Shaking her head, she came back to the task at hand. "The names of the opponents are chosen at random," Hayate explained as the panel revealed itself. "Once the names are selected, everyone must leave the stage except the two fighting."

The panel began selection before it settled on the first two names: **Yoroi Akado vs. Sasuke Uchiha**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The two contestants squared off against each other. Sasuke focused on Yoroi and his eyesight became somewhat normal. He activated his regular Sharingan and settled into the Uchiha interceptor style. Yoroi laughed and his right arm pulsed with blue chakra.

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu,**" Sasuke released a fireball breath towards Yoroi, who dodged the attack. As he looked up, Sasuke appeared in the air and punched at him. Yoroi dodged the blow and tried to grab his arm but Sasuke had already disappeared and re-appeared on the other side of the platform. _His jutsu involves grabbing the other opponent, _Sasuke noted. He would have to avoid getting touched at all costs.

Then, a spasm of pain went through his eyes and he collapsed to the ground, clutching at them. The jonin all looked confused while Sarutobi nodded as if he understood, _The same problem Itachi has. He's going blind. _Yoroi grinned and dashed towards Sasuke, his chakra-covered hand out.

Then, a purple arm crashed into Yoroi, sending him plummeting back. Sasuke got up, surrounded by a purple ribcage. Everybody could see his Mangekyou Sharingan glowing in his eyes. "What is that?" Yoroi asked as he got up. "Let's see you deal with this," Sasuke growled. "**Amaterasu.**" Immediately, Yoroi's upperbody became covered in black flames.

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said to Sarutobi. "Is that..." The Sandaime Hokage simply nodded, turning Kakashi's attention back to the fight. Yoroi had quickly taken off his shirt, which was burning violently now. "So that's your jutsu, eh?" Yoroi laughed although he was wondering how he would take down Sasuke.

Then, Sasuke again gave a shout of pain and the purple ribcage with its arms disappeared. The young Uchiha began to cough up blood and his eyes began bleeding. Yoroi saw his chance and dashed towards Sasuke, who looked up and found Yoroi's hand on his head.

"Now I've got you," he laughed and Sasuke began to lose chakra. "Your chakra is all mine." Sasuke clenched his teeth and his Mangekyou Sharingan reverted back to the regular Sharingan. "SASUKE," Naruto and Sakura screamed as Yoroi continued draining Sasuke's chakra. _I need to do something, _Sasuke thought. His eyesight blurred again, the sting behind his eyes worsening.

Then, he kicked Yoroi in the gut, sending him reeling back. Sasuke got up, slowly. _With these eyes, taijutsu is useless, _Sasuke analyzed. _I can't use genjutsu since the Sharingan is worsening the pain. I'll have to get behind his guard and finish it with a ninjutsu attack. _"You're no match for me," Yoroi sneered before charging at Sasuke.

"Alright," Sasuke went through some hand-seals. "**Wind Style: Divine Wind.**" A few tornadoes appeared and they rushed towards Yoroi, who laughed and dodged them. Sasuke smirked, "You fell for it: **Fire Style: Running Fire.**" As the flames met wind, Yoroi was inside a flaming hurricane.

_Genin aren't supposed to know B-rank jutsus, _the other teams' jonins thought. "You've been teaching him these jutsus, haven't you?" Guy said, pointing a finger at Kakashi, who simply nodded. "He was asking me for some techniques," Kakashi explained. "Since he's better at learning than Naruto and since Naruto was training on his own, I taught him a few jutsus."

In a minute, Yoroi was burned down. He crashed to the ground while Sasuke remained standing before he fell to his knees, eyes bleeding profusely. Kakashi appeard onto the stadium and slung Sasuke on his back. "Winner of the first match," Hayate announced. "Sasuke Uchiha!" Sakura and Ino both cheered but eventually abandoned it when nobody followed them.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke said to Kakashi as the Copy Ninja walked off with him.

"There's someone you need to see," Kakashi merely stated. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but didn't inquire further. His eyes hurt immensely and he could barely see anything. To make matters worse, Sasuke was completely out of chakra.

"Relax," Kakashi said. "You need to rest now; you've overused the Mangekyou Sharingan although your abilities were quite impressive. There's a chance you could be around Naruto's level now." That helped since Sasuke gave a weak laugh to that before falling silent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shino blocked Zaku's punch before kicking the Sound brat in his damaged shoulder. Zaku gave a shout of pain before yelling, "**Decapitating Airwaves.**" He let out a burst of sound towards Shino, who simply shook his head. "You should listen to me," the quiet Aburame said. He defended himself by letting out some of his insects.

Zaku's airwaves collided with them but Shino appeared behind Zaku. "I have special bugs inside my body," he explained. Then, Zaku's back began crawling with insects. "AHHH," the Sound ninja yelled before passing out. Shino withdrew all of his insects and looked at the proctor. Hayate coughed, "Winner is Shino Aburame."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright," Sasuke lay on the floor. "Who was it that wanted to me? Is he here?" Kakashi smiled. "Indeed," he said, looking at Itachi. "Why don't you tell him?" The Uchiha prodigy nodded before speaking, "Hello there, Sasuke."

"YOU," Sasuke was about to get up but Kakashi pushed him back. "Your eyesight is nearly gone," Kakashi said sternly. "You really think you can take down Itachi like this. Besides, he has something very important to tell you. It's so important that I need to leave the room." Having heard Kakashi, Sasuke clenched his teeth before sighing.

"What do you want, Itachi?" Sasuke asked after Kakashi left the chamber. "What is this thing that you want to tell me after you ruined my life?"

"The answer you wanted," Itachi replied, causing Sasuke's ears to perk. "The truth behind the Uchiha Massacre, four years ago. The event where... your life was ruined."

Sasuke was quiet for a while before he said, "Tell me. What happened that night? I was so young and I didn't understand anything."

Itachi nodded. "Alright, listen," he said. "Twelve years ago, the Nine-Tails attacked the Hidden Leaf; it destroyed many homes and families. Now, since the Kyuubi does not usually attack villages without any reason, the Konoha Council suspected that a doujutsu was used to control the Kyuubi that night.

"At that time, the Rinnegan had not been known and the Byakugan could not control Bijuu; that only left the Sharingan. The Hidden Leaf began to suspect the Uchiha clan, our clan. Because of this, the Uchiha felt as if they were being segregated by the village they felt they had founded."

"Founded?" Sasuke asked. "What do you mean founded? The Uchiha didn't find the Hidden Leaf."

"No, they didn't," Itachi said. "The Senju clan's Hashirama, also known as the First Hokage was given most of the credit for founding Konoha. But the Uchiha clan's Madara also had a hand in this; together, Hashirama and Madara discovered this place. Eventually, Madara and Hashirama had a battle at the Valley of the End to see who would become Hokage. Hashirama won and since then, the Uchiha clan thought that they had been cheated."

"That's stupid," Sasuke commented. While he felt the Uchiha were the mightiest, they had been stupid to think that they should have ruled when Madara had lost to Hashirama. "True," Itachi said. "But that's what they thought. And their dark ideals continued forming until the Uchiha clan decided to launch a coup d'etat against Konoha.

This was because of the battle at the Valley of the End and Konoha's suspicions on the Uchiha clan. Thus, they planned to overthrow Konoha's government and seize control for themselves. I'm ashamed to say but our father was part of this plan."

"Father would never-"

"Oh but he did," Itachi said, making Sasuke quiet. "That's when the Konoha Council gave me the mission: to execute everyone in the Uchiha clan. I was also given the choice to decline this mission and perish with my clan. But I wanted to do it.

"The Uchiha clan had become corrupt; people abused the Sharingan and I felt ashamed to be a part of a clan like that. So I accepted the mission and murdered everyone in the clan... aside from you. I couldn't bring myself to kill you, my younger brother. I tried to get you to hate me so you could become strong. Now, I see that doing that, I subjected you to the path of revenge and hatred. You would become just like the Uchiha!"

"I get it," Sasuke said quietly. "But why was Father angry at you?"

"Unfortunately," Itachi said. "Several people of the Uchiha clan began to suspect me; they got my best friend, Shisui, to look out for me. Do you remember I once told you that I killed Shisui to get the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I remember that. You also told me that I had to kill my best friend to awaken these eyes. But you were wrong!"

"Yes," Itachi said, surprising Sasuke. "I was indeed wrong; I never killed Shisui. He had the same ideals as me and was against the coup d'etat that the Uchiha clan was planning. So he willingly gave his life to protect my identity and gave his right eye to Danzou Shimaru, a politician of the Leaf. I awakened my Mangekyou when I felt the pain of losing my best friend."

"That happened to me," Sasuke said. "So you just need to feel pain from losing a close person to awaken these eyes?"

"It has to be either the person you care about the most or the second-most," Itachi replied. "Shisui was the only person after you I really cared about. Then Madara Uchiha came into this little story."

"But he's dead," Sasuke said, confused. "You just told me that he was from the Shodaime Hokage's time. How could he still be alive four years ago?"

"He's still alive," Itachi chuckled. "Madara Uchiha was severely weakened after his fight with Hashirama but he never died. He experimented on himself and lives even today. He formed the Akatsuki, an organization that hunts jinchuuriki, and he's the real reason behind the Nine-Tails attacking Konoha twelve years ago."

"Jinchuuriki? Who are they?" Sasuke asked. "And what does Madara have to do with this?"

"I'll explain," Itachi said. "Jinchuuriki are humans that have Bijuu sealed inside them. Your best friend, Naruto Uzumaki, is one of them. Haven't you wondered where his inhuman powers originate from? Now, getting back to Madara; there was another Rinnegan user like Naruto. His name was Nagato and he was a subordinate of Madara in the Akatsuki."

"Oh I get it," Sasuke smiled. "Madara ordered Nagato to control the Kyuubi with his Rinnegan and to attack the Hidden Leaf."

"Exactly," Itachi said. "Madara had everything planned; he wanted to get the Hidden Leaf destroyed and seal up the Nine-Tails. Unfortunately, Nagato failed to do so and the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto. Madara was furious but decided that he would mess with the Uchiha clan."

"He had a role in the massacre, didn't he?" Sasuke asked, his hand clenching.

"Indeed," Itachi said. "That night, I met up with him and he told me that he supported me. Apparently, the Uchiha clan couldn't stand Madara since he had lost to Hashirama and thus, the government of Konoha was Senju-based instead of being Uchiha-based. He told me to take care of the Uchiha clan and then join Akatsuki.

"I informed Hokage-sama of Akatsuki although I held back on Madara. Then, the Sandaime planned to use me as a spy so I could get him information on the organization and Madara. Apparently, Hokage-sama already knew about the Nine-Tails' assault on Konoha and Madara before I told him."

"Was it because of Naruto?" Sasuke asked, causing Itachi to gasp.

"How did you know that?" Itachi asked, surprised.

"It's not really that surprising," Sasuke chuckled. "Naruto has proficiency with the Rinnegan; I suspect Nagato had somehow put a bit of his soul into the seal or something to teach Naruto. He told Naruto the truth about the Kyuubi and that dobe told the Hokage in turn."

"You're smarter than I thought, Sasuke," Itachi grinned.

"But what's wrong with my eyes," Sasuke asked Itachi, whose face turned grim.

"There's a price that comes with the Mangekyou Sharingan," Itachi said. "In exchange for getting unique abilities, the eye will begin to lose its light. Basically, the more you use the Mangekyou, the blinder you'll get. I'd have gone blind a long time ago if I didn't my medicines."

"Medicines?" Sasuke asked.

"That's right," Itachi said. "There are a few medicines that will allow you to prevent going blind. Well, at least for some time. I'm going to give you these now, alright?" Sasuke nodded and Itachi took out a bottle with a pipette. "Can you see these?"

"Just barely," Sasuke said. He sat up and took off the lid. Then, he dipped his pipette and took some of the substance. Opening his eyes, he squeezed on the back and allowed two drops to fall on each eye. "Now you need to rest," Itachi said. "I'll be training you, if you want, for the last part of the Chunin Exams."

"Why would I need your help?" Sasuke asked. "You're still the guy who killed my entire family and ruined my life."

"Don't you get it," Itachi snapped. "Your life would have been ruined anyways; the Uchiha were decadent and corrupted. You really want to be a part of a clan of traitors; have you ever wondered why everyone in the village likes you so much?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said quietly.

"It's because they try to make sure you won't end up like the other Uchiha," Itachi answered and Sasuke's face erupted in shock. "They try to make sure you won't end up becoming a traitor. Do you understand what's going on, Sasuke? It was all a set-up by Madara."

Sasuke was quiet for a long time. "I'll think about this," he said. "Where can I find you if I decide to train with you?"

"Let's see," Itachi paused. "You can meet me at the Uchiha compound to tell me your final answer. We will do most of our training in cliffs and behind the Hokage Monument. Now, I'm going to leave you to think about everything I've told you." Sure enough, Sasuke was left to his thoughts as the door closed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next matches passed quickly. Kankurou won, Ino and Sakura tied, while Temari crushed Tenten. Naruto fumed as he watched his friend get pummeled. Lee had even raised his fist but Guy had stopped him. Then, Shikamaru and Omoi had their fight which was interesting.

Omoi threw shuriken at Shikamaru, who simply dodged them and tried to capture with his shadow. He countered with some lightning jutsus but eventually got distracted and Shikamaru was able to immobilise him. "There's no use," Omoi smiled. "You need to hurt yourself to do damage to me."

Shikamaru began walking backwards, causing her to do the same. Then, he threw a shuriken at him. While he was able to dodge it, Omoi hit his head against the wall. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT," Karui yelled. "THAT IDIOT. He's such a klutz." Yugito just sighed.

"You should always see what environment you're working with," Shikamaru chided. Sarutobi smiled as he saw the young boy's strategy. _Well, he is a Nara after all, _the Sandaime thought. Hayate coughed before saying, "Alright, the next match is gonna be... Naruto Uzumaki vs. Karui of Cloud."

Immediately, everyone sprang to attention. Naruto grinned, "Alright, looks like it's my fight. And it's with the teammate of that girl that wanted to fight me, too. This'll be fun and I'll get to show off my skills." Yugito and Karui laughed. "I have _him_, my lady," Karui said to Yugito, who smirked. "Make sure you note his skills," Yugito reminded.

They both came to the stadium and Hayate gave them the go. Naruto and Karui backed away from each other. Karui drew her katana while Naruto took out a kunai. Then, she charged at him with insane speed, catching him off guard. Karui hit Naruto in the gut before twirling her sword around. Naruto raised his kunai and blocked it barely.

"**Cloud-Style Front Beheading,**" Karui said, swinging her sword at Naruto. The blonde quickly made a shadow clone, which pulled Naruto out of harm's way. _His timing with shadow clones have improved, _Kakashi thought as he saw the maneuver Naruto did. Karui quickly fell to the ground and kicked Naruto's clone in the face, dispersing it.

She turned and directed a roundhouse kick at Naruto faster than the blonde could react. Naruto was kicked in the face as he went flying backwards. "Please tell me this isn't the best you can do," Karui laughed. "And Yugito-sama was looking forward to fighting you. You can't even handle me and I'm not even trying my best."

Naruto began laughing, surprising Karui. "You actually thought I was coming at you with everything I've got?" he asked her, causing her to frown. "Do you take me for a shinobi or a brawler? I needed to analyze your moves and your fighting style before I could go all-out." All of the Leaf genin were shocked. _When did Naruto begin to think like that? _they all thought.

"And did you finish that?" Karui smiled as she settled into her fighting stance. Naruto grinned as he did the same, "Yeah, you could say that." Yugito's eyebrow ticked and she yelled, "Karui, stop flirting and start fighting!" The Leaf genin were shocked again. _Naruto's flirting with a chick and he got another one jealous? _they all thought at once.

Karui charged at Naruto, sword flying through the air. As she got closer, Naruto opened his eyes, revealing his Rinnegan. Compared to before, Naruto easily dodged her first swing, sidestepped her second, and batted aside her third with his kunai. "You were saying?" Naruto asked as he began to pressure Karui.

"Take this," Karui backed away and went through some hand-seals. "**Lightning Style: False Darkness.**" She summoned a spear of lightning in her hand and threw it at Naruto, who smirked. "**Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal,**" Naruto yelled as he absorbed Karui's attack using the Preta Path.

"This Rinnegan has a lot of uses," Naruto explained when he saw Karui's confused expression, which turned to rage. She charged at him and tried to cut him but Naruto easily dodged them and even deflected some of them. "Are you serious?" Naruto said, smirking at the panting Karui. "Please tell me this isn't the best you can do." Karui's eyes widened as she recalled her words from earlier.

"Your doujutsu can't beat me," Karui grinned. "Let's see you absorb this: **Lightning Dragon Tornado.**" As she went through the hand-signs, a large creature of lightning rose from the ground. It charged towards Naruto in the blink of an eye. "**Dark Style: Inhaling Maw,**" Naruto yelled as two red diamond-like shapes appeared on his left palm. As the dragon came towards Naruto, it crashed into his hand.

Once the smoke cleared, everyone saw an exhausted Karui while Naruto's hand glowed with blue chakra. "Here, you can have it back," Naruto said, confusing Karui. "**Dark Style: Judgement.**" A string of blue flames issued out of his hand and came at Karui, who swung her sword at the flames.

Then, Karui was revealed; her clothes were burned and singed while her sword was cut in half. The other half was imbedded in the floor. "Wow," Naruto said as he looked at her. "I'm impressed you're not passed out from a direct hit with my Kekkei Genkai."

_He has a bloodline? _Almost everyone there thought aside from Sarutobi. The Sandaime knew that whoever possessed the Rinnegan could master some unique nature bloodlines, that weren't a result of two elements combining. _Amazing, _he thought as he looked at Naruto. _He's progressed this far!?_

"While I would love to keep fighting," Naruto said. "I think you should just forfeit before it looks embarassing." Karui just gave a mad roar before charging at Naruto, who sighed. In a flash, he disappeared from everyone's sight. As Karui skidded to a halt, Naruto re-materialized behind her and karate-chopped her. Karui fell to the floor, knocked out.

"Winner of the fight," Hayate said. "Naruto Uzumaki." Everyone's face was surprised and shocked as they registered the fight. _Naruto, the dead-last, had just karate-chopped a Kumo ninja without any problems and cut her sword in half, _they thought, amazed. Not to mention his unknown bloodline, other than the Rinnegan.

After that, the next series of fights were very boring until Neji fought Hinata. Naruto clenched his teeth as Neji openly humiliated Hinata by defeating her in Juuken; he had eventually forced Hinata into a coma after sealing up all of her chakra points. "I swear," Naruto said as he picked up Hinata's blood. "I will beat you in the Fourth Test. Just like you did to Hinata."

Neji scoffed. "You may have improved," he said. "But I'm not buying this bloodline nonsense; you're still a loser and fate will have you lose if we face each other in the Fourth Test, Uzumaki." As Naruto glared at Neji, all of the remaining genin became frozen as Naruto's killing intent choked them.

"NARUTO," Sarutobi yelled, causing the blonde to look at him. "Control yourself; you will get your chance later, perhaps." Naruto's gaze softened at the Sandaime and the genin got up, clearly relieved that they still had their life. _What power, _Yugito thought. While she hadn't been affected as much as the Leaf genin, she had also been pressured badly.

Then, the fights continued for a while until Lee fought Gaara. Everyone was surprised when they saw Lee's speed and taijutsu. _First Naruto, then Lee, _they thought. It seemed that everyone had improved an eternity since the Academy and it would be wrong to judge them from the past. Lee then continued to impress people, even Sarutobi, when he began using the Eight Gates.

Gaara had begun to lose. He was getting pummeled from all sides; Shukaku raged within him. It had already lost to Kisame; it would not lose here. But Gaara restrained himself while Lee broke his Sand Armour. Eventually, Lee's body began to tire from using the Gates and he began to slow down; Gaara broke Lee's leg and would have killed him if Guy hadn't intervened and rescued Lee.

Once the matches were over, Hayate began to tell them about the Fourth Test. "Alright," he said. "You will now draw a number from this box; based on that, we will tell you who your opponent will be in the final phase of the Chunin Exams." As all of the remaining contestants picked a number, the match was written on the panel:

**1) Shikamaru Nara vs. Shino Aburame**

**2) Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuuga**

**3) Yugito Nii vs. Temari**

**4) Sasuke Uchiha vs. Gaara**

Naruto gave one last glare at Neji before he joined his team, leaving the Forest of Death. Neji just smiled and shook his head, "Fate has chosen that I will win this fight. Too bad, Naruto Uzumaki." Then, he and Tenten went with Guy to the hospital ward to see Lee. The other contestants were all determined.

Yugito promised herself that she would find Naruto later and maybe learn some things about him. Gaara smiled crazily as he walked with Temari and Kankurou. "Yes," he laughed madly. "I will have my fight with the Uchiha. Then, I will destroy Uzumaki. As well as Nii. They will all die; Mother wants their blood." Sarutobi watched them go and thought, _This is gonna be a long month._


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry guys, I haven't been uploading in a while. I've been busy. Alright, so this is the training part! Naruto gets three awesome teachers while Sasuke gets two. I'll also show the training of some other people. Alright then, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 11: **_One Month of Training_

"GOD DAMN THAT ITACHI," Obito roared as Kisame and Konan filed their report. He had sent out several of his Akatsuki members but the Uchiha prodigy had gotten away. "HE WAS A SPY?" Obito lost his mind at that thought. He had told Itachi to get Naruto's Rinnegan eyes for him so he may be able to fulfill Madara's plans. But that sneaky Uchiha had gotten away _and _had stolen two Sharingan from his personal hideout.

"No matter," Obito said, calming himself down. "There is still time to get the jinchuuriki after the Chunin Exams." _I'll get my Rinnegan and Sharingan then, _he added to himself. Besides, Konoha's defences would be weak after Orochimaru's assault, which Kisame and Konan told him that the snake ninja was planning.

"Alright," the masked Uchiha stated. "You'll go back there again after the Chunin Exams; I'm ordering you to take Sasori and Deidara as well since this is two jinchuuriki we'll be up against if the Nibi decides to stay longer, which I really hope."

They nodded and Obito dismissed them. He walked back, smiling, while he fumed at Itachi's betrayal. _I should have known, _he thought. _Those eyes are planning something that night, four years ago. How did I fail to see that?_

As he thought about the Uchiha Massacre, Obito wondered why Itachi would have stolen a set of Sharingan unless he decided to give his own to somebody. Suddenly, it dawned on him and he was silent for a while. _So he revealed everything to his brother, _Obito realized, his arms crossed. _No doubt, he plans on giving Sasuke his Mangekyou Sharingan._

Now, he was impressed; he had unlocked the Mangekyou Sharingan at fourteen yet Sasuke had awakened his at twelve already. _He already surpassed me and Itachi, _the masked Uchiha thought. He would also get Kisame, Konan, Sasori, and Deidara to get Sasuke to him if possible. If he managed to manipulate him, then he would be a great asset to Akatsuki.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"WHAT?" Naruto asked, shocked at Kakashi. "Why are you training Sasuke and abandoning me? I'm much stronger than him!"

"Exactly," Kakashi looked at him patiently. "Sasuke is fighting a very strong and ruthless opponent in the finals. You're stronger than him and his opponent is stronger than yours. See what I mean?"

Naruto shook his head, causing Kakashi to sigh. "It means that you're already quite prepared," he explained. "You still need to train a lot and Zabuza will be your kenjutsu and taijutsu teacher. Don't forgot; he's just as strong as me. Me and Hokage-sama also have another person to teach you."

"Is it that 'Elite Jonin' Ebisu?" Naruto crossed his arms. "He's a pervert and I can already defeat him. I need a real sensei."

"It isn't Ebisu," Kakashi re-assured. He _had_ mentioned Ebisu but the Sandaime had cut him off, telling him that Naruto had to get stronger to give everyone a good show. "So your teacher," Kakashi looked at him, "will be Jiraiya."

"You mean Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Naruto asked, amazed. His face cracked into a smile, which turned into a triumphant laugh. "Indeed," Kakashi eye-smiled. "While Zabuza covers your kenjutsu and taijutsu, Jiraiya will be in charge of teaching you ninjutsu. If you want to learn other things, you need to find the senseis yourself."

"YOSH," Naruto pumped a fist. "When is Jiraiya-sensei going to meet me?"

"Oh, um," Kakashi scratched his chin. "I think you need to ask Hokage-sama about Jiraiya's whereabouts although I have a pretty good idea." Before Naruto could ask him what he meant, Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. _Body Flicker Jutsu, _Naruto waved his fist. _I'll learn you soon._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, Naruto," Sarutobi smiled at his surrogate grandson. "First, I would like to congratulate you on your match; where did you get so strong, boy?"

"Nagato left a few scrolls," Naruto explained, delighted that he was being acknowledged. "I found out some more things my Rinnegan can do and began learning a few unique bloodlines."

"Ah yes," Sarutobi leaned back, re-composing himself. "I've heard that the Kekkei Genkai that are not constituted from two elements can be mastered by the Rinnegan. In fact, I think the Sage of the Six Paths himself made these bloodlines using his special Yin-Yang Style."

Naruto nodded. "I wanted to ask you about Jiraiya," the blonde said. "Kakashi-sensei told me that he would be my sensei for this month. When will we have lessons?"

"Well," Sarutobi said. "That you need to clear from him; but finding him is a trouble. He barely leaves any trail to be followed. But I've got a pretty good where he is."

"Where is he?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I can't be sure," Sarutobi said. "But if I were you, I'd check on the women bathhouses. There might be a white-haired guy wearing a red vest and some green pants. He might be looking through a telescope and writing down some notes."

"Jiraiya of the Sannin is a pervert," Naruto summarised. Sarutobi just nodded before giving a little giggle. _He might be as well, _Naruto thought before he dismissed himself. When he went back to the hospital to check on Sasuke, he had apparently left that morning.

_Getting training from Kakashi-sensei, _Naruto thought. Maybe their sensei could also help Sasuke with his eyes since they had pained him through the entire Third Test. Then, Naruto saw Yugito at the end of the street and he immediately went the other way. _If she sees me, _the blonde thought. _There'll be a lot of problems._

Naruto quickly jumped up to the rooftops, since this was the only other way to get to the bathhouses. He quickly raced over the rooftops and eventually arrived at the bathhouses. Sure enough, an old man was disguised perfectly and was looking through a telescope. After a few moments, he would giggle and write down a few notes.

"This is my teacher?" Naruto sighed unbelievably. He went up to the pervert, who hadn't noticed, before he yelled, "HEY, EVERYONE! THIS GUY IS SPYING ON YOU!" Immediately, all of the girls began screaming and ran inside, causing Jiraiya to burn with anger.

"You baka," Jiraiya yelled, pointing his finger at Naruto. "Do you know what you've done? YOU JUST RUINED MY VALUABLE RESEARCH!"

"And you're my sensei," Naruto said, looking at Jiraiya. "The Toad Sage, aren't you? What a joke; you probably can't teach me anything." He turned away and began to walk back when Jiraiya grinned. As he turned, Jiraiya's fist slammed against Naruto's face, sending him flying back.

"So you wanna play that, eh?" Naruto asked before he activated his Rinnegan. "Two can play that game, Jiraiya-sensei." As Jiraiya looked at Naruto, he saw the blonde's new eyes and his words were an echo of Nagato. "H-how did you g-get those e-eyes?" Jiraiya asked. "Only two other people had them."

"I see the old man didn't tell you," Naruto said. "Nagato gave me these eyes after the Yondaime beat him and was sealing the Kyuubi into me. The Yondaime put a piece of Nagato's chakra inside the seal so that he could teach me how to use the Rinnegan."

"Is he still there?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shook his head. "He left a while ago," the blonde said. "Almost two weeks ago, actually." Jiraiya then asked, "Why did he appear here and why did Minato fight him?" Naruto sighed and explained how Madara had ordered Nagato attack the Hidden Leaf and the Yondaime had managed to stop him. Nagato tried to turn over a new leaf by giving him the Rinnegan and how he was proud Jiraiya was his sensei.

"I see," Jiraiya said, before getting up. "Yosh, if my student didn't give up, I won't either." He told Naruto to get into a fighting stance so he could gauge out how strong Naruto was. Unfortunately, he told Naruto to come at him with everything he had. Naruto charged at Jiraiya, who easily blocked his strike, and kicked at him.

Naruto jumped over the kick, his Rinnegan flaring. They exchanged punches for a while with Naruto on the defensive. Backing away, Naruto took a moment before charging. He unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks, all of which Jiraiya blocked or dodged.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto yelled, forming five clones. They came at Jiraiya, who simply dodged their blows. After a while, Naruto's shadow clones had dispersed and he was breathing hard. Jiraiya simply smirked since he hadn't lost a breath. "Come on," he said. "You haven't even touched me; how do you plan to take me down?"

Naruto analyzed Jiraiya's fighting structure and a plan formed in his mind. He quickly yelled, "**Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Around a dozen clones appeared and charged at Jiraiya, who simplly batted aside the first few. Then, the Toad Sage dodged their attacks and backed away. He went through a few hand-seals before yelling, "**Fire Style: Flame Bullet.**" Most of the clones were destroyed but a few escaped by dashing to the side.

"Alright," Jiraiya looked at them. "Now which of you is the original Naruto?" Without warning, he charged at them. Even with the Rinnegan, the clones couldn't register him and they were each kicked in the face by Jiraiya. _Where did the brat go? _Jiraiya thought as he looked around.

Then, he felt a hand grab his leg. "**Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu,**" Naruto yelled as he pulled Jiraiya into the ground. "Not so confident, now are ya?" Naruto laughed as Jiraiya's eyebrow ticked. Then, the white-haired pervert began to laugh. "You know," he said. "You should never use jutsu if you don't know the opponent's one."

Naruto instantly backed away. "**Lightning Ball,**" Jiraiya yelled and the earth exploded. The Toad Sage appeared and smiled at Naruto, who gave a roar before engaging the hermit in another taijutsu battle. Eventually, Naruto showed his inhuman stamina and Jiraiya had begun to tire. "Let's end this, brat," he said and went through some hand-seals. "**Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu.**"

Naruto brought up his hands and yelled, "**Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal.**" As he absorbed Jiraiya's technique, Naruto felt his chakra return to him. This was the difference between Dark Style and the Preta Path. With the Dark Style, he never regained chakra from absorbing the attack. "What was that?" Jiraiya asked as he fell to one knee.

"An ability of my Rinnegan," Naruto explained. "It utilizes the Preta Path and absorbs any ninjutsu attack without any problem. Then, it adds to my chakra so I regained a bit of my chakra due to that." Then, he went through some hand-seals before yelling, "**Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains.**" A wave of wind slammed into Jiraiya and knocked him backwards.

"Alright, that's enough," Jiraiya stopped the match. "With your Rinnegan and chakra reserves, you're my equal in taijutsu. While you have a lot of good jutus, I'll work on teaching you some new ones. The Hokage has told me that you have some bloodlines?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Since I have the Rinnegan, I can use a few nature Kekkei Genkai that aren't made up of other elements. So with the Rinnegan, I can use the unique nature bloodlines, such as Dark, Explosion, Crystal, Steel, and Swift Styles. But I can only use the first two since the other ones are too hard."

"We'll have to work on them," Jiraiya promised. "I'll teach you one of the best jutsu: the Rasengan. It was the Yondaime's own jutsu and if you work hard, you might even be able to improve it." Naruto's eyes widened as he ran around, delighted. Then, Jiraiya told him to meet him at that hot spring the next day at ten to begin training.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Long time no see, brat," Zabuza commented when Naruto had entered their house. "I hear you've gotten yourself in the finals. Is that true?"

"Yeah," Naruto smiled. "The first test was some written exam where you were supposed to cheat to get the answers. The last question was actually just to test our determination, so I passed. The second test was inside this place called the Forest of Death. We got hunted by some ninja called Orochimaru but me and Sasuke were able to weaken him enough. But because of that, we both got knocked out."

"Y-You f-fought O-Orochimaru?" Zabuza's eyes widened. "A-And y-you're still alive?"

"What's the big deal about him?" Naruto asked.

"He's one of the Legendary Sannin," Zabuza said as if he had expected Naruto to know. _The Sannin originate from the Hidden Leaf Village, _the former Demon of the Mist thought. The blonde was clearly an idiot! This month would be boring since he would have to teach such a knucke-headed ninja. _Well, _Zabuza thought. _It's better than the Uchiha; his ego would piss me off to no ends._

"Wow," Naruto said. "So he's the teammate of that pervert I met a while ago?"

"Pervert," Zabuza said, surprised. "The Honorable Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, is a pervert?!"

"He spies on women at the hot springs," Naruto explained. "Well, anyway, I haven't finished with the Chunin Exams. After that, we woke up and Sasuke had apparently gotten a new Sharingan; he used it to take care of these sound ninja that were fighting Sakura and Shikamaru's team. On the fourth day of the second phase, we got some advice from a guy called Kabuto."

"Advice?" Zabuza laughed. "Kid, he was probably leading you to your death. You should never trust ninja when they're trying to get a promotion."

"Actually," Naruto said. "Kabuto didn't trick us or anything; he suggested that we wait for teams to approach the tower and then nick 'em. In this way, we'd get a heaven scroll. While Sasuke fought some Hidden Rain ninja, I was apparently taken by that Konan girl of the Akatsuki. Remember, from Wave?"

Zabuza nodded. "Oh, yeah, I remember her," he said. "She was with Kisame and one of the ones you took down. So she was here in the Chunin Exams, as well, huh? Well, I'm not surprised; there are three jinchuuriki in these exams so they sent three Akatsuki ninja."

"But," Naruto grinned. "I used my head; Konan wanted to fight me and this other girl, Yugito, also wanted to fight me. They ended up fighting each other to decide who would get to battle me; I left there when they weren't noticing. Unfortunately, Itachi Uchiha caught me but Sasuke entered our battle and had a brief fight with his older brother but Itachi placed him under a genjutsu and left to report something to the Hokage about Orochimaru."

"I can imagine," Zabuza snorted. "Orochimaru is a big deal here in the Hidden Leaf; no doubt Itachi went to tell the Hokage about the infiltration. I've suspected that Akatsuki had spies in them, placed by villages; it seemed Itachi was placed by Konoha to learn Akatsuki's secrets."

Naruto nodded as he heard that. _So Itachi isn't the villain Sasuke thinks he is, _the blonde realized. "The third exam," he continued, "was one-on-one battles. Sasuke won his fight, Sakura lost her fight, and I won my fight with ease."

"Who did you fight?" Zabuza asked.

"A girl called Karui," Naruto said. "She's on the same team as that Yugito girl. Karui lost her cool and I could easily dodge her swings. But she was good with the sword; she know a style called the Cloud-Style Front Beheading."

"Bah," Zabuza waved his hand. "That style is weak; it's supposed to be for beginners in kenjutsu in the Hidden Cloud. When I'm done with you, you'll be nothing short of an expert swordsman. Now, I see you brought your sword; while I'll have my Kubikiri Houchou by the end of next week, we'll begin working on your stance today."

They went outside and to Naruto's surprise, Zabuza and the ANBU exchanged friendly gestures. "We'll be off for training," Zabuza informed them. "Please find us at the Training Ground 7." With that, Haku grabbed Naruto and the three of them disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"You need to teach me that," Naruto said when they arrived at the Training Ground. "Just how do you do this Body Flicker Jutsu?"

Zabuza and Haku looked at each other but Zabuza shrugged. "You need to have a lot of speed for this," Haku explained. "The Body Flicker Jutsu is basically high-speed movement over distances; you move at an almost untraceable speed.

"Oh what!" Naruto said. "I thought it allowed you to teleport or something!"

"It isn't space-time ninjutsu," Zabuza laughed. "The only way you can teleport is by entering the fourth dimension and bending the three dimensions. It's really complicated and you need to study about the space-time continuum to fully understand this; it involves a lot of equations which you won't even begin to make head and tell of."

"So teleporation is really complicated, huh?" Naruto asked. "Is there any shinobi that has done it?"

"Nope," Zabuza said. "But the Nidame and Yondaime Hokages were quite close to this; their Flying Thunder God Jutsu allowed them to enter the fourth dimnension and appear somewhere entirely different in a span of a second. I think that if they lived longer, they might have even been able to teleport."

"Cool," Naruto grinned. "But if Body Flicker is just that, my bloodline is already better than it."

"Bloodline?" Zabuza laughed while Haku smiled. "You think you have a Kekkei Genkai? While I agree you have the Rinnegan, you couldn't possibly have any other bloodlines."

"Actually," Naruto said. "The Rinnegan grants the user mastery over the basic five elements and usage of some unique elemental bloodlines that aren't made up of basic elements. These are the Dark, Explosion, Crystal, Swift, and Steel Styles. The Swift Style is much faster than the Body Flicker Jutsu so I'm not gonna learn this."

"Amazing," Zabuza muttered. "You're that strong, kid? Haku only has one Kekkei Genkai yet you have _five _of them?"

"I can't use all of them," Naruto explained. "I can currently only use Dark and Explosion Styles; the others are still too hard."

"Why?" Zabuza asked, confused. "Those are currently beyond Naruto's level," Haku explained. "Bloodlines are hard to control and can only be used if you have the sufficient chakra, strength, speed, and durability for them."

"What she said," Naruto agreed, pointing to Haku. "Alright," Zabuza said. "That's enough of talk; Naruto, draw your blade." Naruto unsheathed his sword, which was on his back. He held it using two hands and placed it away from his body, between the two eyes.

"Good," Zabuza praised. "This is how a normal swordsman would hold his sword but you're not going to. You're going to master a more free, unpredictable style that matches your personality and will be easier to use with your various ninjutsus. Give me the sword and I'll show you."

Zabuza grasped the katana and took a moment to feel it. Then, he quickly turned and put his right leg forward. In this stance, the katana was slightly tilted to the left from the holder's perspective. "Make sure," Zabuza said. "You don't look at your own blade. While it will be hard since you've only began to learn, but try to keep your eyes mostly on the opponent's sword." He returned Naruto's sword back to him.

Naruto quickly put his right leg forward and tilted his sword to the left. He immediately shifted his eyes from his sword and looked at Zabuza. "To introduce this lesson," the former Demon of the Mist said. "You will spar with Haku as much as you can. I will stop the spar after ten minutes. NO NINJUTSU, BOTH OF YOU!" They nodded.

Haku charged at Naruto, who swiped his sword at the Ice-Style-user. He easily dodged and kicked Naruto in the face, sending him moving backwards. They continued sparring for a while but Naruto was getting overpowered by Haku's speed. Some time during the fight, Naruto had activated his Rinnegan but it didn't do him much good since he wasn't able to counter Haku.

"Alright, stop the match," Zabuza said, causing them to halt. Haku stood and panted slightly but looked pretty much alright. Meanwhile, Naruto was panting hard and sweat trickled off his face. He deactivated his Rinnegan and Zabuza said, "Naruto, I've spotted your problem."

"My problem?" Naruto asked, looking at Zabuza.

"That's right," Zabuza nodded. "Your problem is that you're too accustomed to using your kunai when fighting. A kunai is much lighter than a katana and thus, you're able to easily block after the opponent deflects your strikes. But here, after Haku deflected or dodged your swing, you weren't fast enough to bring your sword back to block Haku's swing."

"But he has the kunai; it's a much lighter weapon," Naruto protested.

"While that is true," Zabuza said. "The katana is also more useful; it has a longer reach and once you build up your muscles, you'll find your sword easier to use than kunai. In fact, I only rely on my kunai and shuriken as projectiles."

Naruto nodded. "I think I understand, Zabuza-sensei. I need to build up my arm strength so I can become more fluent with the sword and it doesn't hold me down."

"Exactly," Zabuza said, pleased that Naruto had understood. "Therefore, while I get my Kubikiri Houchou, you will go through a physical routine. You will improve your arm strength, leg strength, leaping, kicking etc. Tomorrow, come here at noon and I will give you the full routine you will go through and make sure you eat a lot after doing these."

"That's enough for today," Haku said. "You can go now." Zabuza nodded and Naruto quickly sheathed his sword and began to leave the area. "Oh and Naruto?" Zabuza called, causing Naruto to turn. "I don't want you to use your Rinnegan when we're training."

"Why?" Naruto asked, frowning.

"It's a crutch you use to gain leverage over your opponent," Zabuza explained. "Similar to the Sharingan, while you may be able to see the strikes, just what is the point if you can't move your blade quick enough to intercept?" Naruto recalled the words Lee had said to Sasuke during their fight back before the Written Test.

"Alright," Naruto said. "I won't use it; anything else you want to tell me?"

"Yes, actually," Zabuza nodded. "Tomorrow, I also will also place some weights on your arms. If you learn to move your sword fast wearing them, you'll find it even faster without them on. From tomorrow onwards, you will also be using your Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu since it is a faster way of learning and time is something we're very short on. Now, you're dimissed." Naruto nodded before he left.

"He has a lot of potential," Haku said to Zabuza, who nodded. "If he learns to move his body in rhythm with his eyes, then Naruto could possibly beat me in kenjutsu after this month." Haku was shocked to see that her master, Zabuza, had just told her that he believed Naruto could surpass him in one of his most honed arts.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto continued to practice from Nagato's scrolls. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto summoned a multitude of clones and began to practice the Naraka Path on them. He summoned the King of Hell and pulled out their tongues before letting them go. He also cut himself deeply and practiced the healing aspect of the path. Once he had become quite good at it, which was in a few hours, Naruto read the scroll as his powers returned.

"Deva Path," Naruto said. It was the strongest of the Six Paths; he had the ability to repel, attract, and make a large rocky ball in the sky. After enough of his chakra had returned, Naruto began to focus. "**Shinra Tensei,**" the blonde yelled. All around him, his shadow clones were repelled only a dozen feet or so.

"Wow, I suck," Naruto lamented. He had only moved them a tiny bit and it hadn't been fast enough. He continued practicing the attack but at best could only get his clones to move back around twenty feet. It was the same distance with his attracting move. "**Bansho Ten'nin,**" Naruto yelled and his clones came closer but still didn't reach him.

After that, Naruto kept practicing with his bloodlines. He had gotten faster during the Chunin Exams so he could now use Swift Style, slightly. But he couldn't move long distances without it shredding his legs. _I really need that physical routine, _Naruto thought. Once he focused a lot, Steel Style became quite easy and Naruto was able to imbue parts of body with it although if he lost concentration, it disappeared immediately.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next morning, Naruto woke up early to re-fill his ninja pack with shuriken and kunai. He had run due to the Chunin Exams; he had had to lend his weapons to Sakura since she didn't know good taijutsu or genjutsu. Thus, the only reason why she was even a bit useful was because she could throw weapons properly.

Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Naruto turned and came face-to-face with Yugito. "Hey, there," she said, causing him to gulp. "Haven't seen you since the Chunin Exams; have you been hiding from me?" Yugito took out her kunai. Naruto smiled and nodded, surprising Yugito. "I _was_ trying to avoid you," Naruto admitted. "Since you're obsessed with fighting me."

"That's true," Yugito purred as she came closer to Naruto. Naruto just moved back. "Well then, why don't you cure me of my 'obsession' by just fighting me?" _If she goes away, _Naruto thought. _It'll be worth it. _"Fine," he said. "I'll fight you."

They squared off against each other on a field. Karui and Omoi had tagged along to see their Yugito-sama beat the living daylights out of Naruto. None of them detected Jiraiya, who was looking at the battle from a rooftop. "Are you ready?" Yugito asked. She smiled seductively. As Naruto was taken for a moment, he felt Yugito smash her knee into his gut.

Naruto quickly rebounded and sprang to his feet. He charged at Yugito, who dodged his blow and mocked, "You Leaf genin fall so easily; is this really everything you can do? I expected more from the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki." Naruto's eyebrow ticked and he activated his Rinnegan. Yugito smiled and came at Naruto, who saw the attack.

Naruto easily batted the blow aside and kicked at Yugito, who got jumped over him. The battle became even after that although Naruto seemed to be overpowering her. Most of Naruto's blows didn't hit Yugito but _none _of her blows landed on Naruto. "Wow," the blonde mocked. "I was actually thinking that you would give me a decent warm-up."

Yugito growled before her nails elongated into long claws. Naruto's eyes widened but he took out a kunai for each hand. As Yugito and Naruto clashed, their weapons caught on each other and Yugito allowed herself to examine Naruto's face properly. While she had guessed that Naruto would have a lot of stamina due to the Kyuubi, she was shocked to see that he wasn't even breathing hard.

She quickly backed away and said, "**Mouse Hairball.**" As she said that, Yugito took out a ball of yarn and it caught on blue fire. It looked like a black mouse on blue flames, hence its name. Yugito threw it at Naruto, who held his hand up, "This is a new one: **Shinra Tensei.**"

The attack was repelled back but Yugito sent it back towards Naruto. "**Dark Style: Inhaling Maw,**" Naruto said and his left hand had the red marks on it. He held it up and Yugito's attack was absorbed by Naruto. "I've been waiting to try this out," Naruto grinned. "**Dark Style: Shadow Stab.**" A string of shadows came out of his left hand and stabbed at Yugito, who managed to dodge it but got a cut on her shoulder.

"So what'd ya think, Yugito?" Naruto smiled. "Am I living up to your expectations?"

"Oh, yes," Yugito grinned. "But you see, I'm a different type of shinobi; I have two types of chakra. Let's see how you handle this, Naruto." Naruto raised his eyebrow; he had never heard of a ninja having two types of chakra. _Is it a bloodline or something? _Naruto thought.

Then, Yugito's eyes flared and her body became surrounded by a bubbly shroud of red chakra. From the end of her back, two tails sprouted out as Yugito's canines grew and her elongated nails thickened. "W-wait," Naruto pointed at her. "You mean, you're a jinchuurki as well?"

"That's right," she growled. "I'm the jinchuuriki of the Nibi; you see, my Bijuu has been itiching to fight the Kyuubi's container. That's why I've challenged you so frequently." Naruto had begun to sweat; it seemed like Yugito and her tailed beast were working together. He would have to go all-out if he wanted to succeed.

Naruto released a burst of chakra, his Rinnegan flaring. "Don't underestimate me," he said, pointing a finger at Yugito. "Me and the Kyuubi might not be friends like you and the Nibi but I don't even need that stinking furball's help to fight you."

Yugito laughed, "Fool." She disappeared in a flash and came at Naruto, ripping at his body. The blonde quickly sidestepped and backed away. _Her speed's increased a lot, _Naruto realized. Yugito was hard to track, even with his Rinnegan. "Behind you," Yugito whispered as he thrust her claws at Naruto. "**Shinra Tensei,**" Naruto yelled, repelling Yugito back.

"**Dark Style: Shadow Glare,**" Naruto said, pushing his own chakra into his left hand. Yugito was assaulted by a wave of shadows but she easily dodged them. "You'll have to try harder, Naruto," she mocked as Naruto's shadows tried to catch her. _She's too fast, _Naruto realized. _Well, then... _The blonde quickly went through a series of hand-seals.

"What're you trying to do?" Yugito asked as she dashed at Naruto, thrusting out her claws. "**Explosion Style: Landmine Fist,**" Naruto asked as he reached out with his hand. As Naruto's palm grazed against the tip of Yugito's claws, a large explosion was generated from their point of contact. Yugito's claws were completely broken and she went flying through the air.

Naruto fell to one knee, tired from using so many jutsu. He looked to see that Yugito had multiple bruises on her body, although her chakra cloak had protected her. "So this is the power of the Two-Tails," Naruto muttered. But he knew that Yugito was still holding back. "Hey," he called to her. "Why don't you show your real power?"

Yugito smirked. "Despite how well you've done," she began, "there is no way you can survive this next form." But Naruto just told her to do it so Yugito finally agreed. The chakra cloak around her was seemingly absorbed her skin, causing to turn red and darker. "This is Version 2," Yugito said, letting out a hot breath.

Naruto was immediately sent to the floor as Yugito pummeled him. She punched him the gut, followed up with a roundhouse kick and gave him a sharp uppercut to boot. "See what I mean?" Yugito asked, hoping Naruto had gotten the point. "**Shinra Tensei,**" Naruto yelled in response, sending her backwards. However, she wasn't pushed back as much as last time. Still, it was enough to let Naruto catch his breath.

"**Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto yelled. The entire clearing was covered in Naruto clones, who attacked Yugito. Easily, she dodged the first few and took them down. The original Naruto was perched on a branch, wondering how he would take Yugito down.

_Guess I need to fight fire with fire, huh? _Naruto smiled. While he wouldn't get as much as Yugito, Naruto would use some of the Kyuubi's chakra since he was sure that the fox wouldn't want him to lose to another jinchuurki. _Hey, furball, I need some chakra fast. _For a moment he felt nothing, but then the red chakra surrounded him. So Naruto's theory had been correct.

Yugito quickly backed away and shouted, "**Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu.**" The attack wiped away most of Naruto's clones and Yugito easily took down the rest. Then, Naruto came out of the bushes and punched Yugito in the face. _**He's using my brother's chakra, **_Matatabi explained as Yugito regarded Naruto's new strength. That made sense since there was flares of red chakra.

"Such a pity," Yugito said, grabbing Naruto's hand. "You really think you're strong enough to fight me toe-to-toe with that little chakra you got from the Kyuubi?" As a response, Yugito kicked him in the gut, sending him flying through the forest. _**I think you overdid it, **_Matatabi said but Yugito just dismissed her. She went after the blonde, who was groaning in pain.

_I can't move my body, _Naruto thought. A single kick from Yugito had decapitated him; the Kyuubi's chakra had been of no use, at all. To make matters worse, he was beginning to black out; as his inner world began to blacken, the Kyuubi growled and pushed in more of its chakra through the bars of the cage. Naruto's eyes opened and they were red and slitted.

_**He's finally using Kurama, **_Matatabi told Yugito, who smiled. Now, the real fight would begin! As she reached the scene, Yugito saw Naruto on all fours; he had a chakra cloak surrounding him and had sprouted two tails. Naruto bared his teeth at Yugito and said, "Is this good enough for you?"

"Finally," Yugito said before she transformed as well. "But your Version 1 is no match for my Version 2." Naruto just laughed and charged at Yugito, who slammed her fist into Naruto's face but one of the latter's tails slapped Yugito in the face. She went flying backwards and Naruto dashed towards her, his hand pulvering the ground as he shot towards Yugito.

"**Cat Claw,**" Yugito yelled, punching Naruto in the chest. Her claws were still sharp, despite being ruined by Naruto's attacks earlier. She drew blood but it had already begun to heal due to the restorative properties of the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto and Yugito continued to fight with the Nibi jinchuuriki overpowering Naruto; due to this, the blonde began to sprout more tails and he now had around four tails in Version 1.

As Naruto started to enter Version 2 at four tails, Yugito panicked. It was _very _dangerous for a jinchuuriki who didn't have control over his Bijuu to go into Version 2; it did severe damage to both you and others. Yugito quickly summoned Matatabi's face and used it for her spell, "**Two-Tails Fireball.**"

While it wasn't as powerful as in Bijuu Mode, Yugito still managed to knock out Naruto, who had red skin on the floor. _He should heal, _she thought. Jinchuuriki could heal from burning wounds like these in an hour; but in the mean time, Yugito would have to take Naruto to her home since she didn't know his house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where am I?" Naruto woke up, surprising Yugito. When Karui and Omoi had left, she had looked at Naruto and admired his looks but the blonde had woken up with a start. "You passed out after our battle," Yugito explained. "Right now you're at my residence here."

"Oh," Naruto calmed down. "What time is it?"

"It's half past 9," she answered. Naruto let out another sigh; he had to meet Jiraiya at ten so he still had time. He could sense that most of his chakra had returned and the majority of his injuries had been healed. _Darn, _Naruto thought. _I lost control there; Yugito knocked me out before the Kyuubi went on a rampage. _"Thanks, Yugito," he said to the Kumo jinchuuriki. "I would have destroyed Konoha if you hadn't stopped me."

"Don't mention it," she waved. "I know how bad it is to be in Version 2 without control; it took a year to control those transformations and it still takes a lot of willpower to not lose my mind."

"Can you teach me?" Naruto asked, surprising her. "I don't want to control the Kyuubi; I just need you to teach me how to keep control of myself when it gives me chakra." Yugito thought about Naruto's request and considered turning him down; giving him lessons would limit her own training time against Temari, who was Gaara's sister.

But she looked at Naruto and everything she knew about him; he was brave, charismatic, and charming. Yugito knew that Naruto would be crushed if he ever lost control of himself and went on a rampage; destroying his precious village in the process. _Why does he care so much? _she wondered. _I'm sure Konoha has treated jinchuuriki harshly; so why does he care so much about this village?_

Naruto smiled as if he had read her thoughts. "It's because," he said, "I have people I want to protect; while I don't like the people who dislike me, there _are _a lot of people, who accept me for who I am and don't see the Kyuubi but me! Naruto Uzumaki! And it's my dream to become Hokage; there is nothing that can change that." He smiled at the shocked Yugito.

_Wow, what a great guy, _she thought. Naruto had an atitude which was hard to impossible to find in a jinchuuriki; she decided that she would protect his dream. "Alright," Yugito nodded. "I'll help you; you'll have to be at Training Ground 7 at 7 in the morning. There we'll begin your lessons."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next month, Naruto became very busy. He spent the early mornings training with Yugito, the late mornings training with Jiraiya, and the afternoons training with Zabuza. Then, he would spend the evenings working on his own skills and improving his prowess with the Rinnegan. During the night, Naruto would learn new things from Nagato's scrolls and soon, he began to gain a lot of skills from all bloodlines.

Jiraiya taught Naruto the Rasengan, which he mastered in a week. "You need to apply shape transformation," Jiraiya had told him. "Then, you needed to rotate the air using your chakra and you get the Rasengan." While he had found the explanation difficult to understand, Naruto had used his shadow clones to learn the Rasengan.

Eventually, he spent the next two weeks developing the Rasengan: he managed to get to the Wind Style: Rasengan, using two clones, and was able to throw it. This jutsu had twice the power of a regular Rasengan while the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken would have thrice the power.

He had also gotten a lot closer to Yugito. While she pushed him into using the Nine-Tails' chakra, she taught him how to keep control over himself. Naruto had realized that the trick was to think about positive things about his life but not so much that the Kyuubi's chakra would disappear altogether. As they sat one afternoon, looking at the sunset, Yugito and Naruto talked to each other.

"Do you like looking at the sunset?" Yugito asked. Naruto simply nodded and continued gazing at the beautiful ball of light, the Sun, just setting. "How do you do it, Naruto?"

"Do what?" Naruto looked at Yugito, striking her with his handsome and rugged features again. _How do the girls here like that pale Uchiha, _she wondered. To her, Naruto was the better of the two, going by his skills and looks even. "You're a jinchuuriki," Yugito explained. "Yet you're still so cheerful? You're not like me, or Gaara."

"Oh," Naruto turned to look back at the setting sun. He then told Yugito about his life; how he had found a friend in Iruka, meeting Sasuke and Kakashi, becoming better friends with Sakura, and ultimately getting stronger. He recounted his adventures at the Land of Waves and told her about Zabuza.

"You're one lucky guy," she chuckled. "I've had many more missions than you yet they were so boring that I don't know what to say." Yugito told Naruto her story after that; she had been hated by everyone in Kumo for containing the Nibi and had undergone a long training to polish her skills from Bee, who had treated her as a normal person. She had eventually mastered her Bijuu, Matatabi, and would gain the rank of chunin by this exam. But then, she told Naruto something which angered Naruto.

"A weapon?" he yelled to her. "That's not right; you're a normal person with a sweet and loving heart. They don't deserve to use you as a weapon just because you have a tailed beast inside you. That's no way to live a life!"

"I know," Yugito said, tears in her eyes. "But what can I do? This is the will of the Raikage and the Kumo Council has decreed this as a law. There's nothing-"

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Naruto said, pumping his fist. "I know the Konoha Council will plan to use my Rinnegan and the Kyuubi as a weapon but I won't let them. I don't know how it is in Kumo but this Bee guy is rooting for you, right? And you have your team and people that care about you, right? So never give in."

At the end of this, Yugito was touched by Naruto's determination and decided to give the boy something; she leaned in and gave Naruto a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," she said and Naruto realized how beautiful Yugito was. She had shining blonde hair, perfect cheek bones, full red lips, and gorgeous eyes. Then, she gave a laugh before disappearing in a spark of lightning. _This girl, _Naruto shook his head, smiling slightly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru huffed as his dad made him go through the moves again. "You really need to work harder, son," Shikaku said, which Shikamaru scoffed at. "No way," the lazy Nara said. "It's too much of a drag!" Shikaku smiled at his son, who was the exact image of him when he was younger.

"This is so you don't lose in the final round," Shikaku explained. "If you don't become chunin, then it would be much more of a drag for me. So get your butt here and master the different applications of the Shadow Imitation Jutsu." Shikamaru just nodded lazily and went back to work.

"So who're you against?" Shikaku asked as he played shougi on his own. _I really hope its not an Aburame, _the mastermind thought when Shikamaru said it, "Shino Aburame." Shikaku gave a groan and leaned back, falling asleep almost. "WHAT A DRAG," both of them said, causing Shikaku to smile and Shikamaru to scoff. "An Aburame is probably the hardest match you'll get," Shikaku explained.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked as he practiced. He had gotten a lot better at the Shadow Imitation Jutsu although he could only extend them up to thirty meters.

"They're logical and smart," Shikaku rattled. "They use bugs and insects, which are a lot in number so our Shadow ImitatIon Jutsu on its own is quite useless. They're just really hard to beat and you really need to use your brain in that fight."

"I'm done with this," Shikamaru said, dropping his kunai. "I'm going inside and you can't stop me, Pops." He went inside, hands behind his head and Shikaku smiled. Shikamaru would do good; he knew that his boy had the potential to surpass him if given the right motivation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zabuza had Naruto work through the first three weeks wearing his weights. Naruto had made around a hundred shadow clones and they each did forty push-ups, a sixty sit-ups, fifty jumping-jacks, and then sparring for an hour with Haku's new ice clones. This physical training developed Naruto's body immensely and he was even able to grow taller due to eating well, standing at 5'2.

His muscles had bulked up and his faint six-pack had become a hardened one. Zabuza had been a strict teacher but Naruto learned kenjutsu, the Dance of the Crescent Moon, and improved his taijutsu. "Alright, brat," Zabuza said to Naruto. "You've gotten an eternity better; I'm impressed that you can spar with me as a near-equal despite only having three weeks of experience."

"Indeed," Haku smiled. "You've gotten really strong, Naruto. And also without the aid of your Rinnegan; I think you can handle yourself now even without it."

"That's right," Zabuza laughed. "Do you remember that I once told you that you needed to have the speed to respond to what your eyes see? I think you've acheived that; think carefully and analyze the fight and then, you can dominate in any fight."

Jiraiya had also responded positively. "I'm proud of ya, kid," he yelled, smiling at Naruto. "You've mastered the Yondaime's jutsu in _a week _and have spent the other two weeks modifying it. Remember, don't use the Wind Style: Rasengan a lot otherwise your hand will be damaged. Still, you can use it around three times before that happens." They had all wished Naruto luck for his exam.

Yugito had also gotten stronger. She had become incredibly fast and could use the Nibi's power in small boosts and wasn't only limited to using her Versions. They sparred the next morning and it ended in a draw although she got the edge with her jinchuuriki forms. But she had helped Naruto a lot and he could now handle up to seven tails in Version 2 without losing control.

"You're ready," Yugito told him after their spar. They looked at the sunset and sat close to each other. "So are you, Yugito-chan," he said, causing her to try to smach him. He always called her that to annoy her and it always worked. She eventually stopped and adopted an evil grin, "Why don't you, Naruto-kun?"

They had began to walk into the center of Konoha, which had almost finished its preparations for next week's Chunin Exams. Light flooded the place and many officials had already signed in to their lodges to spend a week before the main event. Naruto and Yugito walked through the streets, keeping to the sides to avoid the crowd.

While Naruto wasn't so easily caught, she winked at him seductively and Naruto couldn't help going towards her. Then, he was nailed in the head causing him to cring in pain. "OW," he yelled. "Not so hard, you crazy girl. You could have split my head open, ya know."

"Not really," Yugito smirked. "If I did that, I wouldn't have the chance of beating you in the finals; you do know I'm going to win, right?"

"Not on my watch," Naruto grinned. "If you want though, I could forfeit to give you the chance; you would need it."

"Right," she stretched. "As if I need _you _to do that for me; from our match just now, I think I'll have to do that."

"You won 'cuz you're a stronger jinchuuriki," he protested. "In our match, we can't use any of our Bijuu so you're as good as mine." Yugito just smiled and they argued with each other for a while after that, causing all of the elders to smile at them knowingly.

Naruto and Yugito realized this and they looked away from each other, blushing. To be honest, they had completely lost track of the world as they talked and argued. Yugito wasn't used to being so close with anybody so she quickly made to leave. "I'll see you next week then," she turned and walked away.

Naruto hesitated for a second but held her hand, stopping her. She turned and they made eye-contact. "Not so fast," he said. "I have to say something, first. Thanks for everything, Yugito." She gave him a beaming smile and before he could respond, he felt her kiss him on the cheek. Then, Yugito Nii of Kumogakure disappeared in a spark of lightning. The blonde stood there, feeling as if the earth had pulled him underground.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke was on the floor, clutching his eyes. He had mastered the techniques of the Mangekyou Sharingan but now, the medicine had run out and his eyes were falling into darkness. He couldn't see anything! "Sasuke," Itachi's voice came to him. "You've finished your training and it's time to make sure you can see again." Kakashi also said.

"How?" Sasuke asked. "Is there some antidote that I can use to cure this?"

"There is only _one _antidote for this type of blindness," Kakashi explained. "Your brother must give you his Mangekyou Sharingan, and then you will be cured and will acheive the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. It will grant you all of the powers of the Mangekyou and will enhance some of your powers. Take it as an upgrade."

"But Itachi will become blind," Sasuke protested. "I don't want my brother to lose his eyes to save mine; he's saved my life already too many times."

"Relax," Itachi smiled. "I'm not going to go blind since I stole a set of Sharingan from Madara. Some of the Hokage medics can transplant them into me; so you don't have to worry about me and accept my Mangekyou, Sasuke."

There was a long pause but Sasuke relented. "Alright," he said. "But you'll lose your Mangekyou, right?"

"Yes," Itachi said. "But I'm still quite strong with a regular Sharingan; I would be a high A-rank ninja, so don't worry about that."

"Fine," Sasuke said. "I'll accept your eyes; but you'd better not be lying about having another pair of Sharingan." Itachi gave a laugh, happy that his brother had accepted. Besides, he would become a lot stronger from it and would get powers comparable to Madara Uchiha.

The medic, who had been deathly silent so far, began his work. Sasuke and Itachi both activated their Mangekyou Sharingan eyes and lay on the bed. The medic took out Itachi's eyes with chakra and some equipment. He held them gingerly and put them in a jar of liquid. He then took out Sasuke's eyes and put them in another jar of liquid.

Then, the medic took Itachi's eyes and transplanted them into Sasuke's empty sockets, carefully connecting the severed optic nerves. He sedated Sasuke and put a cloth around the latter's eyes. "Make sure he doesn't wake up until tomorrow," he advised Kakashi.

Then, he went over to Itachi and took out the spare Sharingan eyes he had taken from Obito. The medic finished putting the eyes into Itachi's empty sockets and told Kakashi the same thing. "If they don't get at least 10 hours of sleep," he said, "there will be problems with the eyes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several days after that, Hayate, under orders from Sarutobi, was listening intently to Kabuto, who was talking with Baki. "The invasion is all planned," Kabuto finished saying to Baki. _So Itachi was right, _Hayate thought. _I need to relay this to Hokage-sama. _However, Kabuto shot three kunai at Hayate's hidding spot. The proctor quickly backed away and faced the emerging Baki and Kabuto.

"Oh," Kabuto breathed out. "It's just a little rat; I'll get rid of it." As he said that, Baki raised his hand and smiled at Kabuto; however, the white-haired boy knew that the smile was not a real one. "Please, allow me," Baki said. "Let this be a tribute to Orochimaru and honor our alliance." Kabuto nodded and left the area.

"You're not getting away," Hayate yelled and shot a few shuriken at Kabuto. Baki intercepted them and prepared to face Hayate. "I don't have time for you," the coughing proctor said. "I have to finish this: **Dance of the Crescent Moon.**" He made two shadow clones and came at Baki with confusing speed.

Hayate's sword cut into Baki's shoulder, drawing blood. "You Leaf ninja are good," the Sand jonin praised. "You know the Dance of the Crescent Moon yet you're so young. But you should always use invisible swords; they are more useful than normal ones." He brought his hands together and shouted, "**Blade of Wind.**" And then, the brave ninja Hayate met his end at the hands of Baki.

A few moments later, Itachi arrived at the scene and used his Sharingan to detect chakra signatures of Sunagakure and Otogakure. Even though he could not use his Mangekyou Sharingan anymore, Itachi was still very formidable with just his regular Sharingan. _I was right, _Itachi thought and clenched his hand. _And Hayate had to suffer for it! _He gathered the proctor's body and went back to Sarutobi's office, his face grim.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto woke up and yawned. He felt resfreshed and he still had half an hour before going to the Chunin Exams. _I'll make it with Swift Style, _he thought. But first, Naruto had to get some new clothes for the Fourth Test. While he really liked his black clothes with minor orange, Naruto decided that he should introduce some more orange in his outfit.

He went to the shop and came out around twenty minutes later with his new clothes. It was an orange coat with black flames at the edges, a black jacket, and grey pants. He only had ten minutes left so Naruto quickly showered, put on his new clothes, ate some breakfast, and went outside. "Alright," Naruto activated his Rinnegan. "**Swift Style: Orange Flash.**"

Naruto became an orange blur that raced through the streets and in a dozen seconds or so, he had reached the Chunin Exams. This technique did not require any hand-signs from Naruto since it was his most basic move using the Swift Style. Naruto could already tell that this was being looked forward to and he was amazed to see daimyos and royalty from a lot of the Shinobi Nations.

As he walked inside, Naruto saw that a lot of Kages were present. There was Sarutobi in his regular clothes, a muscular man wearing a yellow Kage hat and robes, a completely covered-up man wearing a green Kage hat and robes, and a gorgeous red-haired women wearing a blue Kage hat and robes. _Wow! _Naruto thought. _Four of the Kage are here!_

"Naruto," a voice yelled to him from the spectator area. He saw Sakura waving at him and he used his bloodline again to appear beside her in an orangle blur. Back in the stands, the eyebrows of the Kage rose as they saw the speed of the genin. "Well," A said to Sarutobi. "That one is quite fast; already at Body Flicker Jutsu speed or higher, if I had to guess."

"Indeed," Mei added. "Who is this handsome man with such agility and grace?"

"He's none other than," Sarutobi said, "our jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. He's probably the strongest genin there although I can't say anything about a certain Uchiha being around his level."

"You mean Sasuke Uchiha?" the Kazekage, actually Orochimaru, asked. "I've heard that he has been trained very hard by your best jonin, Sarutobi-san."

"That's true," Sarutobi smiled. "Personally, I think this test will come down to Naruto and Sasuke although I am sure there are others-"

"Nobody can beat Yugito," A said simply. "Your Naruto and the Uchiha may be exceptional but Yugito is a highly-mastered shinobi who is chunin in all but name. And that she will establish that here."

"I came for a good show," Mei smiled. "If they impress me, I might add some missions to you, Sarutobi-san." The Sandaime inclined his head but secretly hoped that Naruto and Sasuke would give everyone a good show. Back in the spectator area, Naruto and Sakura laughed at the blonde's joke. He had gotten a lot of those from Yugito and while he didn't understand them, Naruto knew that the ladies loved 'em.

"Have you seen Sasuke?" Sakura asked, suddenly. "He's supposed to be here; the Chunin Exams are about to start. You need to join the participants, Naruto, get going!" The blonde just grinned and would've used the Swift Style but preferred not to show off and simply walk to his friends, who were on the main arena.

"Wow," Shikamaru said as he saw Naruto. "You got new clothes again? Geez, can't you settle on one outfit?"

"Nope," Naruto grinned at his friend. "Not when there's so many people here. I have to present myself the best I can."

"Good," Shikamaru said simply. "Looks like you're finally learning a thing or too; I hope your training paid off 'cuz you're gonna need it, Naruto." He gestured to the proud Neji and Naruto nodded.

"Hey, blondie," Yugito said to Naruto, who just raised an eyebrow. "You also have blonde hair, Yugito," he pointed out. "I just have a more vibrant type of yellow; so suck it." Yugito shook her hand and said, "Ew, not that tiny thing." Naruto tried to whack her but she dodged skilfully, shaking her finger.

"Well, good luck on your match," Yugito said to him. "You have a promise to someone, remember?" Naruto nodded; he had promised to beat Neji for disgracing Hinata and calling her weak when she wasn't. _That bastard, _Naruto thought but controlled himself. He would have to wait for the second match.

He noticed Gaara and shuddered quietly. The red-haired jinchuuriki was exhibiting signs of madness; he had an insane smile on his face and kept murmuring 'Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Mother'. Yugito noticed this too and shook her head, a sad smile on her face. Apparently, Suna had driven their jinchuuriki crazy and the boy desperately needed some love before he went rogue.

"Alright," a new man said. "My name is Genma Shiranui; Hayate was supposed to cover this but something occurred and I'm here, now. Alright, since the Chunin Exams are now ready to commence, we will start the first match: **Shino Aburame vs. Shikamaru Nara.**"

All of the other six contestants went up to the stands while Shino and Shikamaru looked at each other, no doubt already thinking of each other's weaknesses and strengths. They stepped forward and came close to each other. Genma nodded and said, "Alright, let the first match begin. GO!"


	12. Chapter 12

So the training's done and now, we can get to the main exams! And yes, Sasuke has the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan here since Naruto has almost mastered his Rinnegan. Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to write reviews!

**Chapter 12: **_Chunin Exams Conclude and the Invasion Begins_

Shino and Shikamaru backed away from each before Shino attacked the pony-tailed Nara with his bugs. As they began to come towards Shikamaru, he quickly crouched and went through a series of hand-signs. "**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough,**" he said, releasing a burst of wind at the insects, drawing them of course.

Shino quickly dodged Shikamaru's shadow and studied the genius. _If I get caught by his Shadow Imitation Jutsu, _he deduced. _I'm finished; I need to let myself get caught by him purposely and then trick him with __**THAT **__technique. _Shino went through some hand-seals and yelled, "**Secret Art: Insect Tornado.**"

A tornado of insects drew towards Shikamaru, who quickly dodged and disappeared in the smoke. As it cleared, Shino found that he couldn't move; Shikamaru was standing on the walls of the standing, pumping chakra into his feet.

The entire crowd was surprised while Isumo and Kotetsu seemed amused. "Wow," Kotetsu said. "I didn't know he had that good chakra control." Isumo nodded and said, "Yeah, and he even caught the Aburame in with his Shadow Imitation Jutsu."

Shikamaru put his hand on his left hip, where Shino had his shuriken hoster. He made some movements in the air like he was opening the hoster, causing Shino to do the same except with a real shuriken hoster. Then, as Shikamaru drew his clenched fist towards his right side, he clutched his back. "I got you," Shino smiled.

Apparently, the Shino he had been fighting was a Insect Clone and the real Shino had disappeared underground after using his technique. Shikamaru had underestimated the Aburame and had gotten a kunai in the back. As Genma was about to call off the match, Shikamaru grinned and Shino found that a shadow had pierced his leg.

Shino fell to his feet, holding his leg. "But how?" the Aburame asked. "I didn't see any oppurtunity for you to do that; then how did you-" Shikamaru pointed to the ground beside Shino, where a hole had been dug. "You know," the Nara said. "My Shadow Imitation Jutsu can go across any surface; it doesn't matter if its rough or smooth."

"But when did you do it?" Shino asked. Shikamaru just smiled and said, "I used the Clone Jutsu to fool you during the smoke and set up a Shadow Trap; it's a trap, which can activate my Shadow Imitation Jutsu if I push chakra into it. And I did that after you stabbed me."

"Let's end this," Shino said and punched at Shikamaru. The lazy Nara batted the blow aside and threw his own punch, which was intercepted by Shino. The two head-butted each other, which caused them to go flying backwards with a massive headache. "Argh," Shikamaru held his head. "This match is a drag: my back hurts and your leg hurts. I'm just gonna end this; proctor, I forfeit."

While Naruto didn't like it, he knew that you didn't have to win to become chunin; with his deceptions and strategy, Shikamaru could probably beat any chunin and would be jonin-level at that. So, even if he didn't win the match, there was a good chance he would probably be taken as a good candidate for becoming chunin.

"Alright, then," Genma smiled. He knew Shikamaru's dad and was familiar to how Naras worked. _Lazy buggers, _he thought. "The winner is Shino Aburame; please leave the arena so the second fight can begin. **Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuuga.**"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto and Neji faced each other; Neji was smiling arrogantly as if he thought he would win. Naruto grit his teeth and held out his fist, immediately sending Neji the message. "Do you remember?" Naruto growled and Neji nodded. "And I still think you have no chance, failure," Neji said, and Genma arrived there.

All of the feudal lords and the four Kage was watching expectantly at the fight. Orochimaru wondered how strong Naruto had gotten since their fight, Sarutobi hoped that Naruto had gotten a lot stronger, A wanted to see the boy's power to match him with Yugito while Mei sat up to watch the fight. The last fight had been all brains and no muscle and she wanted to see the cute blonde fight.

The Hidden Leaf shinobi were shocked; Naruto, the orange-and-blue jumpsuit prankster, had turned into a minature Yondaime. He stood at five feet, wore an orange coat with black flames at the edges and sleeves, a black jacket underneath, and grey pants. Naruto had also gained some muscle, which was evident even through his clothing.

"Alright," Genma said. "GO!" Neji and Naruto backed away from each other and Neji activated his Rinnegan. He looked at Naruto and smiled, "These eyes can see anything you do to me, Naruto. Give it up; fate has decreed that you will lose to me here."

"There is a doujutsu stronger than your Byakugan," Naruto said, causing Neji's and the Hyuuga clan's eyebrows shot upward. "Oh," Neji laughed. "And please tell me what that is. The Sharingan is no match-"

"It's not the Sharingan," Naruto closed his eyes. "I meant the Rinnegan, you fate-obsessed retard." He opened his eyes and everybody gasped as they saw the rippling pattern of his purple eyes. In the stands, Orochimaru and the other two Kage were mentally cursing Sarutobi.

"Lucky," A groaned. "You have something like the Rinnegan in your village; now I'm really interested in this fight."

"Indeed," Orochimaru said. While he knew about Naruto's doujutsu, he couldn't blow his cover so he had to act. "You're luck is good, Sarutobi; the Rinnegan happened to appear in the eyes of a Konoha ninja. It turns out that you now have all of the Three Eye Techniques." Sarutobi's eyes narrowed, _The Kazekage's words sound different and not something he would say. Maybe I'm just imagining things._

"Mmm," Mei muttered. "Those eyes make him seem even more... delicious." Even Orochimaru shuddered at her words, shocked, and that was saying something. _So, _Sarutobi thought. _It looks like there are already a few candidates for the Clan Restoration Act. _He knew that he would have to tell Naruto after the Chunin Exams since the Konoha Council would _never _let Naruto die with the Rinnegan without an heir.

"It looks like fate has given you those eyes," Neji smiled. "But you still have no chance; you haven't mastered it like the Sage of the Six Paths and you have no chance against me. Now, come; I will show you the power of the Byakugan."

Naruto settled into a taijutsu stance and looked at Neji. Zabuza had told him a little about the Juuken; the Hyuuga used their Byakugan's vision to locate chakra points and shut them down, putting the user in intense pain and unable to use chakra. "**Shinra Tensei,**" Naruto yelled, sending Neji flying back. The genin twisted in mid-air and stood on the walls of the arena.

Naruto smiled before he came at Neji in an orange blur and attacked several parts of his body, "**Swift Style: Shadowless Fight.**" The Hyuuga was sent flying to the other side of the arena, amazing everybody as they saw Naruto's strength. _That boy has that much strength, _Mei thought. _He sent a Hyuuga flying through the air with a kick._

_What speed, _A thought. The boy could probably match his speed with Lightning Amour. _In an orange flash, _Sarutobi thought. _He is definitely Minato's son; son of the Yellow Flash of Konoha. _"So you've gotten stronger, huh?" Neji settled into his Juuken stance. "But your speed is not enough to save you."

To test Neji's defence, Naruto threw some shuriken at him. "Pathetic," the arrogant Hyuuga stated. He turned around and rotated his whole body. "**Eight Triagrams Palm Rotation.**" There was a blue rotation sphere around Neji and Naruto's shuriken bounced off. Naruto had made a strategy; Neji was a close-combat taijutsu fighter so Naruto would have to use his Swift Style to maintain a distance and attack him with mostly ninjutsu.

Neji smiled at the Hyuuga clan members, who were gawking in surprise. _Impossible, _Hiashi thought. _That technique is only for the Main House members only; no Branch House member should be able to use that technique. Did he learn this by just looking at it?! _The others members had to say that Neji had more talent than a Main House member, despite being from the Branch House.

_With my chakra reseves and bloodlines, _the blonde thought, jovially. _This guy doesn't stand a chance against me. _"Have you finished with your little plan?" Neji asked. He dashed towards Naruto, who again disappeared in an orange flash. "**Dark Style: Shadow Glare,**" Naruto yelled as he re-materialized, releasing a string of shadows at Neji. The Hyuuga did another Eight Triagrams Palm Rotation and the shadows rebounded outside the blue sphere.

"**Dark Style: Shadow Stab,**" Naruto went through the hand-signs. The shadows hardened at the tip and stabbed at Neji's rotation sphere, except they broke. _Good defence, _Naruto thought. He had some other techniques but he wanted to use a variation since this was also to get a promotion.

"Alright, let's see how you do with this," Naruto said as he did a few hand-seals. "**Dark Style: Shadow Inferno.**" A circular torrent of shadows came at Neji, grinding against his defence noisely. Neji increased his rotations and began to cut through the shadow. Naruto appeared on another side and yelled, "**Wind Style: Godly Wind from the Mountains.**"

Neji was assaulted by a wave of wind and Naruto moved to another side. He went through another series of hand-seals, his Rinnegan flaring, and yelled, "**Fire Style: Running Fire.**" As fire and wind combined together, a massive tornado of flames burned into Neji's rotation sphere along with the remaining shadows.

_WOW! _Everybody at the stadium thought. They couldn't believe that this was Naruto Uzumaki, the dead-last prankster that always used to get in trouble. _What happened to him?! _Neji was broken out of his sphere and the Hyuuga was sent flying through the air, his hair and clothes horribly burned.

"You shouldn't have underestimated me," Naruto said, looking at the panting Neji. "I used all those jutsu yet I still have three-fifths of my chakra left. How about you?" Neji released a roar and charged at Naruto. In an instant, he drew his blade and yelled, "**Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Three clones moved and made a square with Neji coming to the real Naruto.

"You're done for," the blonde sighed. "**Dance of the Crescent Moon.**" Genma's and Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up as they saw Naruto use the style. Something similar happened to everybody that knew Hayate's fighting style; Naruto became a blur to Neji and he couldn't react fast enough to prevent getting cuts in multiple places.

_Such a talented boy, _Mei thought, impressed. A seemed surprised since the style was popular in Kumo, as well. Orochimaru's eyebrows shot up, _So the boy has learned kenjutsu as well. Zabuza must be behind this._

"**Water Style: Wild Water Wave,**" Naruto said and a wave of water crashed into Neji, pinning him to the wall of the arena. "Proctor," Naruto said. "Neji's down and I won the round." Then, the Hyuuga got up and glared at Naruto, who met his gaze with his cold Rinnegan eyes. "NO," Neji roared. "Fate has decreed that I will win; me and not this failure."

"Are you serious?" he asked Neji. "Come on, man, you're all beat-up and I haven't even removed my weights. Do you really think you can beat me in this condition?" Everybody's eyebrows rose up again as Naruto said that and the Hyuuga activated their Byakugan and realized that he _was _indeed wearing weights around his chest, back, hands, and legs if one looked closely.

Neji came at Naruto again but the blonde buried his katana in the floor, the hilt sticking out. He batted aside Neji's first blow and slammed his fist into the arrogant Hyuuga's mouth, cracking a tooth there. Naruto put his palm on Neji's palm and yelled, "**Explosion Style: Exploding Palm.**" He had only put a little bit of chakra but Neji's shirt was blown apart and his chest had burn marks on it.

"I can't give up," Neji clenched his teeth. "My father, Hizashi, was killed since he and Hiashi were twins; it was his bad luck that he was born into the Hyuuga clan's Branch House and not the Main House. My father laid down his life to Kumogakure and yet the Main House never fred us from this curse." Seeing Naruto's confusion, Neji took off his headband and showed off the caged bird seal.

"I get it," Naruto said. "But this is the way the clan is being ruled; besides, they didn't force your father since I'm sure your dad wanted to protect the clan's honor and risked his life to do it. Compared to that, you're just a failure who uses fate as an excuse for everything." Hiashi looked in wonder at the blonde and saw Minato in the young Uzumaki.

"Looks who's calling me a failure," Neji growled. He put on his headband and activated his Byakugan with renewed energy. He came at Naruto, who barely dodged, and yelled, "**Eight Triagrams Palm Rotation.**" Naruto used the Swift Style to disappear in an orange flash as the ground where he stood was pulverized by Neji's rotations.

"I'm sorry, Neji," Naruto said. He released a large amount of chakra, shocking the Kage. _He has almost as much chakra as us, _the three Kage thought while Orochimaru growled in envy. _If only the Kyuubi had not been sealed in him, _Orochimaru said. He couldn't wait until he saw Sasuke's development.

"AHH," Neji yelled as he surrounded himself in chakra as well. "You talk big; but let's see what you do." He gathered chaka in his fingertips and charged at Naruto. The blonde quickly made a shadow clone that did the shape transformation to the air on Naruto's palm with the original supplying the chakra.

"**Rasengan,**" Naruto yelled, surprising everyone there again. _He knows the Yondaime/his father's jutsu, _they all thought, amazed beyond words. Neji doubled his rotations and yelled, "**Gentle Fist.**" As they drew closer, Naruto gave one last comment, "When I become Hokage, I'll change the way of the Hyuuga." Their two attacks collided against each other, which resulted in a massive smokescreen across the entire stadium.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto was standing while Neji was on the ground. The Hyuuga's fingernails were bleeding and his fingertips were badly burned. Naruto's clothes gave off some heat but he was fine nonetheless. Then, Neji sprang to his feet and thrust his hand out, "**Eight Triagrams Vacuum Palm.**"

Then, Naruto disappeared in smoke; _a shadow clone, _Neji realized. Naruto had made a shadow clone in the smoke and had tricked Neji. The blonde appeared behind Neji and finished his hand-seals, "**Crystal Style: Jade Crystal Prison Jutsu.**" Neji was immediately trapped in a large blue crystal as Naruto fell to a knee, panting.

"Just what is this kid?" A spluttered out at Sarutobi. "Naruto's easily jonin-level yet you're keeping him as genin; I don't understand this, Sarutobi-san."

"He needs more experience," Sarutobi explained. "While Naruto's power is roughly at high-jonin level, he lacks experience and knowledge. Still, I have already decided to promote him, especially after seeing his strategies and deceptions."

"What a handsome man, indeed," Mei said. "I thought that he would be quite strong, but Sarutobi-san how can he use three bloodlines? I can only use two and I am from a clan."

"The Rinnegan," Sarutobi said. "It allows the user to use a few unique bloodlines. I don't know a lot about it so you'll just have to ask Naruto." He had lied about the last part and Sarutobi suspected that they knew this but he couldn't hand out information on the Rinnegan; he wouldn't have been Hokage for most of his lifetime if he did things like that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The winner of the second match," Genma stated, "is Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto, please undo your jutsu on Neji, now." Naruto nodded and released his technique. Neji fell to the floor and after a moment, he began to laugh. "I should have known," Neji said bitterly. "The Shadow Clone Jutsu is your signature technique, isn't it? I fell for it. It appears fate sided with you on this battle."

"Did you know," Naruto said. "Back in the Academy, the jutsu I was the worst at was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I spent a thousand hours and it was through blood, sweat, and tears that I got these skills. I used to be the worst ninja in the Academy, having failed four times, and I trained with these eyes. That's how I got my strength; hard work. Just like your own partner, Lee!"

Neji's eyes widened. _Is this true? _he thought. Neji had known that Naruto was not such a special ninja since his teammates were always being surprised by what Naruto did; he had never thought that the blonde had the Rinnegan and had perfected his jutsu to such a degree with hard work. He had changed his fate! "Fate dictates _nothing,_" Naruto added. "It's just an excuse for people who haven't really given it their all."

"But how can you be so sure?" Neji asked. "How do you know that you change everything despite trying your best?"

"You don't," Naruto smirked. "But I know and can bet on my life that I will become Hokage someday despite being the dead-last." The crowd went into uproar and praised Naruto, who seemed overwhelmed for the first time in the last two months. He gave them a grin, before walking back to the spectator area. A stretcher came and took Neji away, with the latter thinking about what Naruto said.

"Alright," Genma said. "Now, we shall commence the third fight: Yuigto Nii vs. Temari." Now, the crowd had gone back to its calm state although this was a highly-expected match: Kumo vs. Suna. A sat up and paid attention to the upcoming fight; he had warned Yugito not to use the Nibi and thus, the Sunagakure ninja had a slight chance if she was incredibly skilled.

"Your girl's gonna lose, Kazekage," A laughed. "She's nothing compared to Yugito, who's the best genin back home. I wonder how your face will be-"

"If you don't mind," Orochimaru said, his eyebrow ticked. "The match is about to begin; and I would save the comments until the end when we know who has really won." He had told Temari to forfeit after exchanging the first few blows so that Sasuke's match would commence and the Invasion could begin sooner.

After Genma gave them the clear, Yugito and Temari clashed against each other but the Kumogakure ninja quickly forced her back. Her finger nails grew long as Temari took off her fan, showing one star. In a flash, Yugito appeard beside Temari, who dodged her first attack and side-stepped her second.

"Good reflexes," Yugito complimented. She backed away and Temari spun her fan around. A large blast of wind was expelled but Yugito simply used her signature jutsu, "**Mouse Hairball.**" Since wind was weak to fire, Temari's attack was overpowered and she had to move back to prevent getting burned.

Temari's fan unfolded to reveal two stars. She swung it around, releasing a larger blast of wind. Yugito just shook her head and used her speed to disappear from sight. Temari turned on instinct and Yugito's leg slammed against Temari's fan, the impact sending her reeling back.

"I'm gonna finish this," Temari yelled, unfolding her entire fan. Yugito smiled and her claws glinted. "**Lightning Style: False Darkness.**" Temari gave a laugh and let out a blast of wind, which negated Yugito's blow and cut through her body. Then, she disappeared in lightning; _a lightning clone_, Temari realized.

"I've got you," a voice said from the side. As Temari turned, she was knocked out by Yugito, "**Cat Claw.**" A began to laugh and pointed to Orochimaru, "Wow, your children are quite weak. I mean, Yugito didn't even use half of her new jutsu yet your girl wasn't ablet to even handle that." Orochimaru just scoffed outwardly but he actually couldn't care in the least if _Temari _won or lost.

"Okay," Genma said. "So this match goes to Yugito Nii; the final match is between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara." All of the feudal lords and daimyos began cheering since it was Sasuke's fight they had really wanted t see; however, Sasuke wasn't there yet and Sarutobi was about to give the signal to fail Sasuke when Orochimaru intervened.

"Sarutobi," he chided. "Many people are looking forward to this fight; I know that being late is not a good quality as a chunin but all of these people will be very angry at us if their Uchiha doesn't fight."

"Alright," Sarutobi sighed. "I'm going to give him ten minutes and if he doesn't appear, I will fail him." The other Kages nodded while Orochimaru smiled inwardly before resting on his chair.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well," Genma prompted. "Since Sasuke Uchiha is not here to fight, he is-" A large smoke filled the arena and everyone turned to see Sasuke and Kakashi standing there in a swirl of leaves. Sakura and Ino yelled in delight as they saw their Uchiha, standing there.

"Um, sorry about that," Kakashi scratched his head. "Sasuke's not disqualified, right? He can still continue, right?"

Genma chuckled. "Like teacher, like student," he said. "No, he's not disqualified but if you were a few seconds late, then he would have been. Now, without wasting any time, Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara need to come here so the fourth match can commence." Kakashi nodded and disappeared using the Body Flicker Jutsu.

"Hey, sensei," Naruto greeted Kakashi, whose eye widened in surprise. He had to admit that Naruto looked exactly like Minato except wearing different colours, whisker marks, and shorter hair. _I can tell he's gotten a lot stronger, _the Copy Ninja thought. Between Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and Naruto's Rinnegan, he wondered who would win in a fight now.

"I won my match," Naruto said. "It was quite easy although I had to rely mostly on ninjutsu since engaging Neji in a taijutsu match is futile." Kakashi was deeply impressed that his student had also gotten better at planning and didn't charge in like before.

"Is Sasuke going to make it, sensei?" Sakura asked, causing Kakashi to eye-smile. "Don't worry," the white-haired jonin said. "This is an entirely different Sasuke you're about to see. Just keep your eyes on him and don't fall behind."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Gaara squared up against each other. The Uchiha had abandoned his blue t-shirt and white shorts; he wore a high-collar white cotton jacket with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, a purple rope belt, black ninja pants, and a blue cloth over his pants from his waist to his knees. Like Naruto, Sasuke also stood at five feet. Gaara smirked at him crazily and said, "Mother wants your blood. Let's do this, Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke gave a smirk before he appeared in front of Gaara. Before the red-haired jinchuuriki's sand moved, he was punched in the face and Sasuke had already disappeared. In the stands, Naruto was impressed since Sasuke's speed had developed immensely and was now probably on par with him without his weights.

"You're a joke," Sasuke goaded. He had heard from Itachi that Gaara was a jinchuuriki and he wanted him to get more serious so the Uchiha could test his battle. Sure enough, Gaara's sand plunged towards Sasuke.

"**Sand Drizzle,**" Gaara yelled and thrust his hand. A cloud of sand formed above Sasuke and the Uchiha was assaulted by sand bullets from every direction. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and dodged the bullets, backing away quickly. "**Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu,**" he yelled and expelled a large blast of fire at Gaara, whose sand rose instantly to protect him.

As this was happening, Sasuke went through a series of hand-seals, which Sarutobi recognized. _So Kakashi taught him __**that **__jutsu, _the old Hokage thought. Sasuke's left hand flared before it was engulfed in blue, lightning chakra. "Why did you-" Guy looked at Kakashi, who just shrugged. _Kakashi Hatake's personal jutsu, _A realized.

"**Chidori,**" Sasuke charged at Gaara. "**One Thousand Birds.**" Gaara quickly moved his sand to confront Sasuke, completely forgetting about the latter's speed. He had been too busy with destroying the flames! Sasuke just disappeared from sight and Gaara sidestepped on instinct. The side of Sasuke's hand grazed against Gaara's chest, drawing blood.

"MY BLOOD," Gaara screamed. "THIS IS MY BLOOD!" His sand rushed at Sasuke but the Uchiha had already moved away. "Come on," Sasuke boasted. "I'm just using my normal Sharingan and you can't even stand up to me; you're a joke." Gaara's eyebrow ticked and released a large amount of chakra. A mad grin marred his features while Sasuke scoffed. _Is he really that mentally unbalanced? _the Uchiha thought.

Gaara's sand began pouring out; Naruto knew that he was now using Shukaku's chakra. Sasuke also knew that Gaara was not using his own strength since his Sharingan could see that the red-haired jinchuuriki had chakra gathering from his stomach, where a demonic eye stared at him. _This guy's like Naruto, _Sasuke realized as he thought back to their fight with Orochimaru.

Gaara held out his hand and yelled, "**Ultimate Hard Absolute Defence: Shield of Shukaku.**" A large toy-replica of Shukaku appeared in front of Gaara and faced Sasuke, blocking the way for Sasuke. Then, Gaara surrounded himself in a ball of sand, focusing inside. "This isn't gonna save you, Gaara," Sasuke yelled. "This defence of yours will be felled by my offense."

Sasuke activated his Eternal Mangkeyou Sharingan. The four Kage were startled to see that although Sarutobi realized that this was what Itachi had told him about some days ago. _Sasuke will regain his light, _the Uchiha prodigy had said. Sarutobi had also noticed that Itachi no longer used his Mangekyou Sharingan and did not seem to suffer from blindness, either.

_Brilliant, _Orochimaru thought. _His eyes; the Mangekyou Sharingan has evolved to the next level. Now, Sasuke has surpassed Itachi. _"That kid," A said. "He has some freakishly evolved version of the Sharingan; just how many skilled shinobi do you have, Sarutobi-san?" The old Hokage just smiled and they went back to watching the fight.

"**Amaterasu,**" Sasuke said, directing a jet of black flames at it. Immediately, Gaara's replica began to dissipate and Sasuke brought out his Chidori again. He rushed at Gaara's ball of sand and thrust his flaring hand at it. He dodged the spikes coming out of them, using his Sharingan, and dug his Chidori into Gaara's defence.

Gaara screamed loudly as he saw his blood dripping. Sasuke drew back his arm and brought out the ribcage of his Susanoo in time to block Gaara's transformed arm. As Gaara withdrew his hand, Sasuke slowly allowed his ribcage to disperse away. The ball of sand fell to the ground to reveal a panting Gaara with his shoulder bleeding.

Kabuto, who had been disguised as an ANBU black-op, took this oppurtunity to initiate his attack. "**Temple of Nirvana Jutsu,**" he said, going through the hand-seals. Immediately, everybody saw white feathers falling and their eyelids dropped, heavily under the genjutsu.

Then, Orochimaru quickly disposed of all of their bodyguards and took Sarutobi by the neck, holding a kunai to it. "KAZEKAGE-DONO," Sarutobi yelled. "What is the meaning of this?" But A appeared behind Orochimaru, kicking the latter away and thus, releasing Sarutobi.

"I'm not the Kazekage," Orochimaru said, revealing himself. "Do you recognize me, Sarutobi-sensei?" Sarutobi's eyes widened but A and Mei stood up, protecting Sarutobi. "You won't even touch him," A growled while Mei said, "Sarutobi-san is from the old generation; we would never allow you to hurt our elders." The four Kage-level opponents took to the roof of the nearby building.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Orochimaru's bodyguards, the Sound Four, went to four corners of the building and made a barrier. One of the ANBU was burned to death as they tried to enter. "It's a barrier ninjutsu," the chief ANBU said. "But there has to be a way through it!" Kakashi and Guy were watching and tried to assist but Kabuto appeared in front of them.

"What're you doing?!" Guy said to him. "You're supposed to be helping the ANBU there!" But Kakashi had already figured it out and he said, "So you're the executor of this genjutsu, huh? An enemy disguised as ANBU. Quite clever." Then, out of the crowd, several sound ninja appeared and faced off against them.

"What is going on?" Sasuke asked as he saw the barrier and Kakashi fighting. "Tell me, proctor!" Genma appeared and looked on as Baki, Kankurou and Temari discussed something. "You fool," Baki hissed. "Who told you to transform before the signal, huh?"

Gaara groaned in pain and held his head. "His chakra's almost completely drained," Temari said. "And his wound is worse than I thought."

"What do we do?" Kankurou asked, panicked. "We need Gaara for this!"

"Gaara is the trumph card for Suna," Baki said. "He will play his part, no matter what; alright, you three will have to take Gaara away from here and as soon as his chakra is restored, the operation will continue as planned. NOW, GET GOING!" The three nodded and left with Gaara.

"Sasuke," Genma said. "The Chunin Exams will be canceled because of setbacks; but you have a mission, though. You need to chase after those ninja that just left and bring them back before they finish whatever they're planning." Sasuke looked at Genma and nodded. He followed them but Baki intercepted his path. Then, Genma was onto him, locking his hands. "GO, SASUKE," the proctor shouted and Sasuke went full speed behind the three.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Genjutsus are hard stuff, _Naruto realized. He found taijutsu and ninjutsu easy but genjutsu was very hard to learn and just as hard to break. He had activated his Rinnegan and was currently releasing his chakra as much as he could; reality around him began to break and suddenly, Naruto's eyes opened to find himself in the arena's spectator area.

He got up to see that Kakashi was talking to Sakura about something. Naruto got up and took down the shinobi who was creeping up on the Copy Ninja. "Oh, Naruto, good to see you're awake," Kakashi said. Naruto nodded before saying, "So Orochi-teme finally made a move, huh? Jiraiya was thinking about this."

"Right," Kakashi said. "You need to take Shikamaru and Sakura; Sasuke's already left to pursue Gaara and his teammates. You have the same mission and make sure, Naruto, that you make them pay for what they did to this village!" Naruto nodded, his Rinnegan flaring for a second before it vanished. He went to Shikamaru and woke him up.

"Man," he yawned. "This is such a drag! But a mission is a mission... let's get going." They quickly got ready and then, Yugito appeared. She had received a message from A that she was to protect the village from the large summons that had appeared. "Make sure you get 'em good," Naruto said to her but she looked at Naruto with... fear in her eyes. Naruto had never seen that look in her eyes, before.

"Naruto," her voice cracked. "Please, be safe and make it back." As she said that, Yugito leaned in and their lips met. Naruto and Yugito stayed for a moment like that before he broke out of it and gave her a grin, "I won't die until I become Hokage, believe it!" Then, he took the shocked Sakura and laughing Shikamaru with him along with one of Kakashi's hounds, Pakkun.

Yugito watched them go and smiled, _You'd better, Naruto. I'm not done with you, yet. _She left the stadium and made her way towards the summons. If she could use the Nibi, then Yugito would be able to get rid of them without much trouble. She had to get there fast! After hearing Naruto, Yugito wanted to protect his dream.

Kakashi watched the exchange with interest. He would have to tell Jiraiya and Zabuza later that Naruto would soon get a girlfriend. Getting serious again, he and Guy unleashed a flurry of attacks at the sound ninja and began to take them down in earnest.

Itachi raced through the streets; he had to find out where the summoning circles were so he could stop them. He activated his Sharingan and scanned through Konoha, trying to find the circle. He would take down as many summons as possible but Itachi had a suspicion that most would be outside. This was because the Suna ninja hadn't came in yet. He raced towards the walls, determined to protect Konoha.


	13. Chapter 13

So, the Invasion has begun and Sasuke is chasing after Gaara now. Yugito and Itachi are gonna protect Konoha while A, Mei, and Sarutobi fight Orochi-teme. After this is done, there will be the Clan Restoration Act and Naruto will go on the quest to find Tsunade.

**Chapter 13:** _The Invasion Continues__  
_

Naruto, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Pakkun and sped through the trees. They were getting closer to Sasuke, who had almost reached Gaara by now. "How much longer is it?" Naruto asked the dog, who sniffed the air. "It'll be half an hour or so," Pakkun explained. They continued moving through the air before Shikamaru noticed something. He came to a stop and looked back. "Wait," he said.

"We don't have time, Shikamaru," Sakura said. "You can't be lazy here; Konoha's safety depends on this." Shikamaru just looked at her and sighed. "I know, idiot," he said. "I was going to say that there's a few enemies behind us. They're chasing us so that Gaara guy can get away."

"WHAT?" Sakura said. "That kind of lie won't fool me; I've had it-"

"Sakura," Naruto cut sharply. "It's true; there's people trailing us. They seem to be Sound ninja, sent by Orochi-teme."

"There's nine of 'em," Pakkun sniffed the air. "And they're pretty nasty if you ask me; one of us will have to engage them and keep them busy while we do our work."

"I'll do it," Shikamaru said, surprising them. "With my Shadow Imitation Jutsu, I can stall them enough and distract them while you guys help Sasuke and get that Gaara dude." Sakura was about to protest but Naruto nodded. "Alright," the blonde said. "You'd better return alive, Shikamaru. Use that big brain of yours and try to take them down if possible." Shikamaru nodded and went backwards.

"Now, it's up to us," Pakkun said. The two genin nodded and they left on their way, again. Naruto also hoped that Sarutobi and the other Kages were doing good, fighting Orochimaru. Sakura also seemed determined, which Naruto found surprising since he had never seen that type of look on her face since she had cut her hair and tried her best to beat the Sound ninja. But Naruto knew that he would have to take her out when they engaged Gaara since she would just hold him and Sasuke back if they had to protect her from that raging pyschopath.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sarutobi sighed as Orochimaru began laughing. He threw aside his Hokage hat and robes, revealing his special battle armour. "Oh," Orochimaru said. "It seems that you had a suspicion that I would try something here." A simply threw aside his hat and readied himself; Mei took off her hat and Hokage robes, revealing her own blue dress. "You have no chance against us," Mei said. "You're barely at Kage-level yet you're facing off against three of us; you stand no chance."

"Actually," Orochimaru smiled. "I do; tell me, have you ever heard of a jutsu known as Edo Tensei?" Sarutobi's eyes widened as he heard that. He looked at Orochimaru, who began laughing again. "Indeed, Sarutobi-sensei," the snake sannin chuckled. "I've found out how to use that jutsu; I hadn't mastered it but since I knew that a few more Kage would be here, I practiced and mastered it a bit more."

"Y-You w-wouldn't d-dare?" Sarutobi asked since he knew what Orochimaru was going to do. "Too late, sensei," Orochimaru laughed. He went through a series of hand-seals and slammed his hands into the floor, "**Edo Tensei.**" Three coffins rose from the ground and their lids slammed to the floor. All of the Kages' eyes widened as they saw the corpses of the Shodaime Hokage, Nidaime Hokage, and Sandaime Raikage.

"W-Where d-did you get these?" Sarutobi asked. Orochimaru just laughed and the coffins disappeared; he took three kunais with a special tags on them and put one inside the head of each corpse. Their eyes flared to life and they looked at the battlefield. "Well, well," Hashirama said. "If it isn't little Saru; it seems that you've lived to a ripe old age and protected this village."

"Mei-chan, is that you?" Tobirama laughed. "You've become so tall and beautiful, now. I remember that you were a little girl that always wanted piggy-back rides. I loved those visits to Kirigakure although the Nidaime was fighting Mu-san; have you become the Mizukage?"

"H-Hai, Tobirama-san," Mei said, blushing heavily. "I became the Godaime Mizukage a year ago, after Yagura died."

"Yagura died?" Tobirama faltered. "Oh, I see; she was such a fairy. I will never come across one like her again; didn't she just become chunin when I last visited Kiri?" Mei nodded, thinking about her surrogate big sister. Meanwhile, the Sandaime Raikage was looking at A, who bowed before him. "Have you become a fine Raikage, A?" the old man asked.

"Hai, otousan," A bowed his head. "I've lead the country just as you asked me to; there has never been a time that Kumo has fallen." The Raikage smiled and patted his son on the shoulder, before looking at Sarutobi. "Hiruzen," he smiled. "How are you; still not dead, I see? It seems that life is indeed a harsh thing." The Hokage inclined his head at his fellow Kage when Orochimaru began laughing.

"As much as I love this reunion," he said, "I need you three to kill these lousy Kage for me." Immediately, Hashirama, Tobirama, and the Raikage attacked Orochimaru but suddenly froze. Grimacing, they turned to face the three again. "I'm sorry, Saru/Mei-chan/A," they said before they attacked their individual opponent. The Sandaime Raikage attacked A, Tobirama attacked Mei, while Hashirama attacked Sarutobi.

"**Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence,**" Hashirama yelled, and trees began to form. Sarutobi quickly jumped on them before going through a series of seals, "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.**" The trees met a large dragon of flames and ash began to form. Hashirama quickly jumped and kicked Sarutobi in the gut, sending him sprawling backwards. Sarutobi quickly got up, blocked Hashirama's punch, before kicking underneath his former mentor.**  
**

Hashirama quickly leaped over Sarutobi and said, "**Wood Style: Great Forest Jutsu.**" Wood shot out of his arm and came at Sarutobi, who managed to dodge it and responded back, "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet.**" He released a stream of fire at Hashirama, who brought his hand together, and said, "**Wood Style: Hobi no Jutsu.**" A face of wood appeared in front of the Shodaime and blocked Hashirama's fire without a single scratch on it, causing Sarutobi to groan. _I can't defeat him now, _he thought. In his prime, Sarutobi would have defeat Hashirama with high difficulty but now it was tough.

Tobirama was exchanging blows with Mei and complimented her strength. "You've gotten strong," he remarked. "Let's see how you deal with this: **Water Style: Water Colliding Wave.**" He released a large vortex of water at Mei, who quickly went through some hand-seals and yelled out, "**Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet.**" A dragon of mud was formed from the ground and rushed towards the water, overpowering it.

"Nice," Tobirama said. "I'm a disadvantage her since you have Earth Style." _Me too, _Mei thought. _I can't use Fire, Water, or Boil Styles. _She was limited to Earth and Lava Styles. "This is my Kekkei Genkai, Tobirama-san," Mei said, going through some hand-signs. "**Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu.**" She expelled lava at Tobirama, who smiled and prepared his own jutsu.

"**Water Style: Great Water Formation Wall,**" he released a large breath of water. The regular Water Formation Wall wouldn't be enough to block Mei's Lava Style bloodline so he needed to use the A-rank version of it; Mei's attack clashed against Tobirama's defence. The fire dissipated, leaving only the rock while the water wall decreased considerably. Eventually, both attacks were negated and the two combatants engaged each other in a taijutsu fight.

Tobirama blocked her punch, but Mei locked his leg and drew hers back. The Nidaime fell to the floor, before springing up on his feet and dodging Mei's chakra-enhanced punch, which pulverized the ground. "To think that you have the Lava Style," Tobirama smiled to Mei. "You have indeed bloomed into a very powerful Mizukage, Mei-chan."

"Thanks for the piggy-back rides, Tobirama-san," Mei smiled. They returned to their fight while the Sandaime Raikage and A just fought. They were both engulfed in their Lightning Style Armour, fighting with taijutsu. The Sandaime blocked his punch and kicked at A, who simply batted the blow aside, before unleashing a flurry of attacks. "**Lightning Oppression Horizontal,**" A yelled as he tried to back-hand chop his father. "**Hell Stab,**" the Sandaime yelled and thrust his hand at A. There was a large explosion but A had a few broken finger-nails while the Sandaime seemed fine. _This is gonna take a while, _he thought.**  
**

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The sound ninja stopped when shuriken were thrown at them; they quickly dodged it and turned to face the direction where it had come from. Then, they realized that they couldn't move. "Hey," Shikamaru said from the side. "I'm right here, suckers." He came closer and the sound ninja did the same. _Why are there only eight? _Shikamaru thought. _Pakkun said there were nine of them. _The lazy Nara came to the conclusion that there was a ninja hiding and was there for support if the main eight got caught in an ambush.

Shikamaru took out some kunai and shuriken; he threw it to the eight sound ninja but they were all deflected. _I was right, _Shikamaru thought. He quickly turned and ran towards the disguised shinobi. Since he had immobilized eight of them, around five of them were freed as Shikamaru had the other three take down the hidden sound ninja.

"You failed," he heard a voice behind him. As the sound ninja sliced at his head, Shikamaru felt nothing. He turned to see that Asuma had taken out the sound ninja. "Now, you're getting it," Asuma said to the other sound ninja. He charged at them and punched the first in the face; he turned and kicked the next two in their faces. Then, Asuma was attacked by two kunai but he did the Replacement Jutsu to avoid getting hit. Immediately afterwards, Asuma came down on the attacker and broke his nose. He easily punched the remaining two in the gut, knocking them out quickly. "Let's get back," Asuma suggested, causing Shikamaru to just nod. _I never thought that Asuma was that strong, _the pony-tailed Nara thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temari had left Kankuro and Gaara so she could stall for time by fighting Sasuke. The Uchiha soon meet her and stopped. "You really think you can do something to me," he raised an eyebrow. "I'm here for Gaara and nothing is going to stand my way. You can't even defeat a Kumo ninja; how're you going to fight the Uchiha elite?"

"My ass," she smiled. "You're just a weakling without your eyes; the Sharingan is the only reason you were able to wound Gaara. And most of your jutsu is just copied off other people. You can't defeat _me _with that." Sasuke's eyebrow ticked but he quickly settled in a quick stance; he would have to knock out Temari before she could use her fan.

He quickly disappeared from her sight and came to her from above. Unfortunately, Temari saw his shadow and had backed away. Sasuke broke the branch but regained his footing. Temari took off her fan, unfolding it to three stars, and released a large gust of wind. "Pathetic," Sasuke laughed. "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet.**" His fire jutsu overpowered Temari's wind jutsu but she dodged out of the way, dashing to the side.

"You're nothing," Sasuke goaded. "I'm not even using my Sharingan yet you're no match for me. This is what I meant earlier!" She let loose another gust of wind, stronger than the last, but Sasuke had went through some hand-seals again. "No use," he emphasised. "**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.**" Temari dodged the numerous fireballs but she fell in the centre of the circle of fire.

Then, she used her fan to levitate herself and managed to get out of the fire. _I spent too much time on her, _Sasuke clenched his teeth. He quickly went through a series of hand-seals before yelling, "**Wind Style: Pressure Damage.**" He had copied this technique from Orochimaru with his Sharingan in the Forest of Death and Temari was blown away by it; resting on the floor, panting hard.

He allowed himself a smile before continuing on his way, after Gaara and Kankuro. He wanted to preserve chakra but Sasuke had to catch up or they would get away; he activated his regular Sharingan to track their movements and pushed chakra into his feet, moving faster than before.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yugito finally reached the village, where the snakes were attacking. _Alright, _she thought. _Version 2 should be enough! _She went straight into Version 2 with two tails; her hardened skin glowed red and her hair stood on end. Yugito gave a cry before she began attacking the snake. "**Cat Claw,**" she dug her claws into their hide and bit away at the skin. The snake hissed and fell to the ground, before exploding in smoke._  
_

"**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu,**" Itachi expelled a large breath of fire at the second snake. His attack pierced the hide of the second snake and as its attention turned to Itachi, Yugito came flying and roared, "**Two-Tails Fireball.**" The serpent gave a final hiss before also disappearing in smoke. They encountered some sound ninja but Zabuza appeared, slicing through them with ease.

"Are there any more summons?" Yugito asked Itachi. She had already gotten enough from Naruto to know that this guy was Sasuke's brother. And Zabuza Momochi was recognized almost immediately because of his Kubikiri Houcho and also since he used to be a famous missing-nin in Kirigakure. "Yes," Itachi said, focusing his Sharingan into the city. "The sound ninja that have gone into the city are about to summon; you should get there quickly." Yugito nodded and dashed off, reverting to Version 1 to save chakra.

"I'll handle it here, Itachi-san," Zabuza said to Itachi, who nodded. "Haku and me will defend this front and will inform you if any more summons decide to come. You're needed on the other frontiers." The Uchiha prodigy nodded and left; a few Sound ninja tried to follow but were stabbed by senbon. Haku appeared, his mask in position. Zabuza nodded and put on his own mask since he didn't want anybody recognizing him.

Yugito went to the streets and sure enough, a series of serpents were summoned. They began to destroy buildings and all of the civilians began evacuating. Yugito quickly went into Version 2 and began combating the first serpent but they all spew smoke at her, clouding her vision. Then, Yugito was punched down and since the snakes had greater mass, she was flung to the side.

**_You need Bijuu Mode,_ **Matatabi insisted. _**Screw A; you'll only live this way.**_Yugito shook her head and reasoned, _I don't have the chakra to go into Bijuu Mode now and I'm not letting you get control of this. _Matatabi gave a huff but didn't say anything; Yugito got up and yelled, "**Lightning Dragon Tornado.**" A dragon flared to life and slammed into one of the serpents, causing it to fall and bring down the other two. Yugito took this moment to summon Matatabi's paws and destroy them. Then, her chakra shroud gave way and Yugito slumped to the floor, tired.

In another part of Konoha, another explosion occurred where serpents appeared to destroy buildings. Fortunately, Jiraiya appeared with his toads. "Are you serious, Orochi-teme?" he said. "I was doing some research and this happened." _I hope the Kage are alright, _Jiraiya thought. "**Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld.**" The snakes were immediately covered in mud and began to get absorbed my the ground. The other serpents engaged his toads in a battle and were beginning to get overpowered.

"Alright, I'll leave this up to you guys," Jiraiya said to his toads. He raced towards the Chunin Exam stadium so he could engage Orochimaru and help his sensei and the other Kages. Maybe Jiraiya might even be forced to use Sage Mode in this encounter depending on how strong Orochimaru had gotten since they had last fought; fifteen years ago. _I won't fail this time, _he thought as he went at full speed.

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Sasuke reached Kankurou to find the purple-marked puppeteer arguing with Shino. "I don't have time for this," Kankurou yelled while Shino simply said, "It's too bad; I overheard your 'plan' and will take a part in destroying it." Then, Sasuke made his presence known by appearing in front of them. _Darn it, _Kankurou groaned. _I just had to get the Uchiha as well?! _"Where's your brother?" Sasuke asked him. "Nowhere you should be concerned about," Kankurou stalled.

"Sasuke," Shino called. "His sister, the blonde-haired one, left with the Gaara dude a while ago. You have to hurry up and get them since it's only been a few minutes since they left."

"Got ya," Sasuke smiled. He was surprised that Temari had gotten to them before Sasuke. _So she knows a few shortcuts, _the raven-haired Uchiha thought. "I'll leave this guy to you, Shino." The Aburame simply nodded and Sasuke left in a white-and-black flash; apparently, they weren't very far from here so Sasuke would get them in around ten minutes or so if he moved fast.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How much longer, dammit?" Naruto asked Pakkun, who simply groaned. "It'll be some more time," the hound said. "Sasuke is now chasing only two of them since the other has been occupied by some guy, who smells like bugs."

"Shino?" Sakura said, surprised. Naruto wouldn't have thought that he would try to help them; _the more helpers the better, _he thought. They continued speeding through the forest but Naruto had really wished that Sakura had stayed behind. If he removed his weights, Naruto would get there much faster and his Swift Style would be more effective.

"Around how much time do you think we still have to go for?" Naruto asked Pakkun, who thought for a moment. "It'll take another twenty minutes at the least to get there," the hound said, causing Naruto to grimace inwardly. They didn't say anything after a while but just continued moving from branch to branch.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sarutobi panted as he finished his assault. He was getting tired while Hashirama seemed as good as new. To make matters worse, Orochimaru had complete control over them so they didn't say anything and didn't hold back at all. _We can't win at this rate, _Sarutobi thought. He had to do something otherwise the three elder Kages would completely obliterate them. Hashirama threw a punch at him, but Sarutobi blocked quickly. He tried to kick the Shodaime but he easily evaded it. Then, getting past his guard, Hashirama slammed his elbow into Sarutobi's face. The Sandaime Hokage went flying through the air as he landed on his back.

Mei was punched in the face by Tobirama, who reared back and yelled, "**Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu.**" Mei tried to use an earth technique but didn't make it in time and was washed away by the burst of water. Tobirama stood before the defeated Mizukage, his eyes possessed and didn't say anything. The Sandaime Raikage had gone to the Three-Finger Nukite and A had ended up with a bleeding arm. Still, thanks to his speed, the Yondaime had managed to move away from his father. Orochimaru laughed as he saw his sensei, Mei, and A fall to their knees and his warriors weren't even harmed.

"You need to try harder than that," the snake sannin taunted. "You cannot win against your predecessor like this, Sarutobi-sensei and A-kun. Can't bring yourself to harm your lovely Tobirama-san, Mei?" He just chuckled and that's when there was a large earthquake. All seven of them turned to see the barrier disappear to reveal the smirking Jiraiya.

"So you made it," Sarutobi smirked, delighted. If Jiraiya managed to defeat Orochimaru, then the Edo Tensei would be cancelled and the reanimated Kages would be back to the dead. Jiraiya examined the situation and came to a similar conclusion. Then, the reincarnated shinobi came at Jiraiya but were intercepted by Sarutobi, Mei, and A. "No you don't," they chorused. The fighting continued, leaving Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

"Hello there, Jiraiya," Orochimaru said, his eyebrow ticked. The idiot had ruined his plans again! But he would destroy Jiraiya since Orochimaru had also gotten stronger since the last time they had fought. "Do you really think you can take me down, Jiraiya?" Orochimaru laughed. "You must have forgotten how our last battle went."

"You beat me," Jiraiya admitted. "But I've gotten stronger since the last decade and you don't stand a chance against the Toad Sage." He immediately dashed to Orochimaru and the two punched at each other. Jiraiya blocked Orochimaru's punch while Orochimaru blocked Jiraiya's punch. They stood there, struggling, before Orochimaru pulled Jiraiya. As Jiraiya fell forward, Orochimaru kicked Jiraiya in the gut, sending the Sannin flying away. "**Binding Snake Glare Spell,**" Orochimaru released two snakes, that came towards Jiraiya. Jiraiya sat on a tree Hashirama had made earlier and used his own jutsu, "**Fire Style: Flame Bullet.**"

The two C-rank jutsus clashed against each other and the two Sannin continued their battle. Orochimaru kicked at Jiraiya, who sidestepped, and returned his own blow. Orochimaru crouched and kicked underneath Jiraiya, who simply turned and gave Orochimaru a sharp uppercut to the shins. As Orochimaru backed away, Jiraiya yelled, "**Needle Hell.**" His hair shot out several needles towards Orochimaru, who fell to the floor. "**Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands****,**" he yelled, a lot of green snakes from his arms.**  
**

Orochimaru quickly backed away and Jiraiya's needles impaled the snakes. The remaining ones came at Jiraiya but the Toad Sage yelled, "**Needle Jizo.**" He was covered by his long white hair and the snakes were cut when they tried to pierce the sharp hide. "**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough,**" Orochimaru released a large gust of wind at Jiraiya but he quickly went through some hand-seals and yelled, "**Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu.**" Jiraiya's attack overpowered Orochimaru's and the snake sannin was forced to get away from the attack.

Jiraiya appeared behind Orochimaru but his kick was blocked. They fell to the ground and began a taijutsu fight; Jiraiya and Orochimaru were both evenly matched although Jiraya knew that the other Kage were running out of chakra fast. "**Barrier: Toad ****Gourd Prison,**" Jiraiya yelled as he summoned the toad needed for this. It ate Orochimaru, who gave a cry before it was devoured. _That should keep Orochi-teme busy for a minute or two, _Jiraiya thought. He summoned Ma and Pa with the Summoning Jutsu and began to gather natural energy from his surroundings.

Around a minute later, Orochimaru burst out of the toad's mouth just as Jiraiya opened his toad-like eyes. "W-What is that?" Orochimaru asked but Jiraiya didn't answer. Then, in a moment, Jiraiya slammed his fist into Orochimaru's gut. The snake sannin went plummeting through the air but re-gained his balance. "I see," he laughed. "So this is your Sage Mode, isn't it? I have one, as well." Seeing Jiraiya's shocked look, Orochimaru waved his hand. "Don't worry," he assured. "I can't use it since my host is not strong enough. I have this, however."

Then, Orochimaru underwent a grotesque transformation. "What is that?" Ma shrieked while Pa just shrugged. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed when Orochimaru appeared as some type of white snake monster. "Do you like it," Orochimaru bared his fangs. "This is my true form; I've experimented years on my body and have received the Power of the White Snake. This is where my control over snakes are derived from."

"You're a joke," Jiraiya snorted, surprising Orochimaru. "You know, you were much more of a challenge back in the old days. Now, you're some type of freak-show. I can't believe you're actually one of the Sannin; you disgrace Konoha and Sarutobi-sensei's name." Orochimaru gave a roar and charged at Jiraiya, whose Sage Mode allowed him to easily dodged Orochimaru's move.

"You don't understand anything, you idiot," Orochimaru hissed. He went blinding fast towards Jiraiya, who still managed to dodge his moves. They began to fight but it was clear that Jiraiya was far too strong in taijutsu. "I don't have to use hand-seals for ninjutsu anymore," Orochimaru laughed. "**Earth Style: Mud Wall.**" As a wall of earth appeared in front of Orochimaru, Jiraiya brought out a Ultra Big-Ball Rasengan. He smashed it into the wall, breaking it with ease and Orochimaru was slammed through a series of trees.**  
**

"I think you did it, Jiraiya-chan," Pa said but Ma shook her head. "Use your head, Pa," Ma lectured. "If you look at the smoke, it seems that Orochimaru is still alive." Pa looked back at the smoke and nodded, "You're right, Ma. Jiraiya-chan, you need to end-"

"JIRAIYA," Orochimaru yelled. "I'VE HAD IT NOW; SINCE YOU'RE AT YOUR BEST, I WILL SHOW YOU MY BEST." As he said that, Orochimaru exploded and a massive hydra came in his place. Jiraiya looked up to see that the white hydra had _eight _gigantic heads and tails; Orochimaru came out of one of them. "Surprised, Jiraiya?" he chuckled at Jiraiya's shocked face. "Your Sage Mode is indeed quite hard to evade but this is my strongest technique to date other than the Edo Tensei: **Eight Branches Jutsu.**"

He heard something behind him and Jiraiya turned to see that Hashirama, Tobirama, and the Sandaime Raikage had turned to stone. Sarutobi, Mei, and A collapsed on the ground, trembling and unmoving. _So his new form undoes Edo Tensei, _Jiraiya turned around. He bit his thumb and went through some hand-seals, "**Summoning Jutsu.**" Gamaken appeared and Jiraiya stood on his head, his expression grim.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this serious, Jiraiya," Orochimaru laughed. "It appears that you're finally detecting my power level, with your Sage Mode." Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Orochimaru's knowledge of senjutsu; it was true, he _had _been detecting Orochimaru's chakra and was surprised to see that it was almost as strong as a miniature Bijuu. He would have to beat Orochimaru with genjutsu and ninjutsu since it looked like taijutsu would be difficult. They looked at each other before Gamaken and the hydra dashed towards each other.

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"We'll have to take the long route," Pakkun said, causing Naruto and Sakura to look at him. "WHAT!" Naruto yelled. "Why do we need to do that?" Sakura nodded and Pakkun halted on a branch. "Sasuke's chasing two of them but the other two are not moving," Pakkun said. "The're about to fight!" Sakura seemed confused but Naruto nodded. "We should not get involved in another person's fight," the blonde said. "Alright, let's go on the long route so we don't get involved in the cross-fire."

Sakura nodded now as she understood. "But how long will the long route take?" she asked Pakkun. The hound thought for a moment before saying, "Another twenty minutes, I presume." Since he saw Naruto's and Sakura's faces fall, he added, "We should get a move-on." Naruto nodded and they set off on their new path; while Naruto had gotten better at it, he began to feel impatient and hoped the twenty minutes would pass quickly. These would be the longest twenty minutes of his life!

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Kankurou unwrapped his puppet and revealed it. "This is my puppet," he introduced. "His name is Crow." Having said that, the puppet charged towards Shino but the Aburame quickly dodged. He released a wave of insects at Kankuro but the puppet master simply dodged them. Crow shot towards Shino, forcing him to retreat into the bushes. There, he saw Crow's poison blades. _I need to make sure I don't get hit by that, _Shino said, pushing up his glasses.

Then, Crow came in through the bushes and Shino had to reveal himself. "I see you," Kankurou smiled. "You're making this fight so easy." He operated Crow, who shot two knives at Shino. But out of the Aburame's wounds, insects poured out and the knives fell to the floor. _A clone, _Kankurou realized. Crow quickly came behind him and protected him from Shino's kunai.

Crow shot towards Shino, who dodged again and shot a wave of insects at Crow. But Kankurou had his puppet release a poison gas, which made all of the insects fall to the ground, dead. "Do you see now?" Kankurou laughed. "There's not way you can beat me with your bugs." Shino, however, was forcing his bugs to develop an immunity to Kankurou's gas. After a while, Shino came out into the open and Crow shot towards him.

Shino used his insects to rip off Crow's blade but was forced to dodge the other one. As Shino moved back, Kankurou again made his puppet release the gas and Shino pretended as if he was sick. "W-What h-have you done to me?" the Aburame spat on the ground and held his stomach. "It's too bad," Kankurou said. "You should't have come asking for a fight; you should have minded your own business and went to sleep with the rest of 'em."

Then, to his surprise, Shino stood up and said, "I'm fine, actually." Kankurou's jaw fell as he saw that and wondered how the Aburame was not affected by Crow's poison gas. "What's wrong with you?" Kankurou asked. "Why aren't you affected by Crow's gas?"

"As you may or may not know," Shino said. "My body is constituted of a multitude of venomous insects; I had some of them adapt to your poison gas after they fell victim to it once. Thus, when they came back to my body, I have also learned how to resist your poison. It will not work on me!" _This guy's incredibly smart, _Kankurou thought. Crow attacked Shino but the Aburame quickly jumped over him and bound him with his insects.

"That won't-" Kankurou was cut off when he saw that Shino's insects were on his chakra threads. Getting bitten by the insects, Kankurou felt his chakra beginning to ebb away. As he crashed to the ground, Shino panted and also collapsed. He had spent a lot of chakra on the fight and it didn't help that he had spent so much chakra against Shikamaru earlier in the Chunin Exams. _Sasuke, _he thought. _You've got be careful!_

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Gaara punched Temari away. "I don't need you," he said to her. "You're so weak and pathetic that I feel like killing you right now." Then, as he said that, Gaara fell to his knees and held his head. He could hear Shukaku inside him, screaming in joy and giving Gaara a massive headache. To make matters worse, Sasuke chose that moment to appear. "Yo," he greeted. "Looks like I finally got you, Gaara." The Uchiha quickly took out a small soldier pill and ate it, replenishing the chakra he had lost since the morning.

"Uchiha," Gaara yelled. The right side of his face began to break and crumble. This was followed by his right hand; Gaara then continued screaming and began to transform. In a moment, the right side of his body had turned into sand and a blue vine-like pattern went over it. Gaara opened his right eye and it was black with a shuriken-shaped yellow star in the middle. It looked like the demon's eye Sasuke had seen back in the Exams. The red-haired psychopath began laughing and looked madly at Sasuke, "BRING IT ON, UCHIHA! I WILL PROVE MY EXISTENCE BY KILLING YOU."

Sasuke activated his Eternal Mangkeyou Sharingan and looked coolly at Gaara. The jinchuuriki of the Ichibi charged at Sasuke, swinging his right arm at Sasuke but he dodged it, his eyes catching onto the movement as soon as it was made. "You're too slow," Sasuke taunted. "You're never gonna catch me with that!" Gaara growled and began a series of strikes. However, Sasuke managed to dodge each and every single one of them. The only thing that happened was that several trees and branches ended up shattered and broken.

"**Amaterasu,**" Sasuke yelled and black flames appeared on Gaara's transformed hand. Gaara gave a yell but a sand body formed out of his hand and took the attack for him. In a moment, Gaara's sand clone had been burned to a crisp but the original remained unharmed. "UCHIHA," Gaara yelled, sneering at Sasuke. He charged at Sasuke, who brought out his Susanoo. The purple ribcage appeared around Sasuke and two hands came out of them; they slashed at Gaara and sent him flying away.

Gaara sprang to his feet and began laughing, "This is it; THIS IS THE FEELING I WANTED." He charged to the Uchiha's again and his transformed arm collided against the Susanoo's arm. Eventually, Gaara began to gain the advantage so Sasuke used the other hand of his Susanoo to send Gaara backwards, cutting across his chest. "Is this your full power?" Gaara asked, a look of disbelief in his evil eyes.

Sasuke decided to get more serious; he summoned his skeletal Susanoo and Gaara was immediately slammed through trees. "**Blaze Style****: Kagutsuchi,**" Sasuke yelled and let loose several bolts of black fire. Gaara's left side of his body was hit by them so the sand quickly adjusted to douse out the Amaterasu. Gaara rose, his left side now transformed. _What a freak, _Sasuke thought. He and Naruto had seemed similar but the dobe was nothing like this guy! Sasuke's Susanoo grew another two hands and held a sabre as they faced Gaara.

The sand ninja held out his hand, "**Sand Hail.**" Orbs of sand dropped from the sky but Susanoo defended Sasuke from them; Gaara dashed towards Sasuke, who dodged him and Susanoo brought its sabre crashing down. As a result, Gaara's sand rose but he was still repelled back. _I'm not even using my strongest Susanoo, _Sasuke thought. He hoped that Gaara had more to him than that.

"MOTHER WANTS YOUR BLOOD," Gaara yelled, alarming Sasuke. Then, Gaara's entire upper-body was covered in sand and had seemingly transformed into a miniature sand beast. "Just what are you?" Sasuke asked but Gaara didn't answer. He shot towards Sasuke with greater speed than before although using his Sharingan, Sasuke moved away just in time.

Gaara's hand shot towards Sasuke, who used Susanoo's arms to push the red-haired jinchuuriki away. "**Sand Drizzle,**" Gaara yelled and a large cloud of sand appeared above Sasuke. The drops of sand fell onto Susanoo but Sasuke's defence held on. "**Sand Binding Coffin,**" Sasuke's Susanoo was getting covered with sand and it was really dense. "**Blaze Style****: Flame Wrapping Fire,**" Sasuke yelled and Susanoo's ribcage was covered in black flames, burning the sand. "You're too late, Uchiha," Gaara grinned. "**Sand Waterfall Funeral.**" The sand began to crush Sasuke although his Susanoo held out, completely covered in sand.

Just as he was almost dead, all of Gaara's sand exploded and came off Sasuke; the Uchiha stood and revealed his now-armoured Susanoo. "This is the second level," Sasuke explained. "Let's see if you like this." Susanoo had a bow, which it strung, before letting an arrow loose. Gaara's was stabbed in the stomach but he melted into sand. _A sand clone, _Sasuke thought. Susanoo drew its sabre and swung it around, sending the incoming Gaara flying back.

"**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough,**" Gaara yelled and released a large gust of wind. Sasuke's eyebrow raised as he thought, _Are you freaking kidding me? _He focused his Eternal Mangekyou and yelled, "**Blaze Style: Yasaka Magatama.**" Out of his Susanoo's palm, several projectiles engulfed in Amaterasu shot towards Gaara, resulting in a large number of the forest being destroyed. Sasuke contemplated whether he should just put Gaara under a genjutsu but he wanted to test his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan a bit more.

Gaara appeared from the smoke, looking relatively unharmed. In fact, he had gotten bigger and fatter with sand. "SASUKE UCHIHA," Gaara smirked. Sasuke knew that he had lost all reasoning and was blood lusted badly. In an instant, Susanoo was slammed backwards by Gaara's kick. "**Wind Style: Sandstorm Devastation,**" Gaara released a large amount of wind, which was not pure. When they assaulted Sasuke, he realized why; Susanoo was scarred in many places and had its armour coming off on those places.

Sasuke focused and repaired the injuries when Gaara came flying at Sasuke. The Uchiha dodged his strike and side-stepped his next attack before using Susanoo's sabre to send Gaara flying but the red-haired jinchuuriki dodged it and a wave of sand collided into Sasuke. He backed away and yelled, "**Blaze Style: Susanoo Kagutsuchi.**" An orb of black flames appeared on Susanoo's hand and Sasuke sent arrows of them flying at Gaara, which resulted in another section of the forest getting blown up.

When the smoke cleared, Gaara was on the floor. He had no sand surrounding him and was clutching his head. "AHHHH," Gaara yelled before he released the Shukaku. There was a large hurricane as several trees were taken down. Sasuke let his Susanoo dissipate before he climbed up to the highest tree; he was shocked to see that Gaara had transformed into a large raccoon with a large bushy tail, swinging. Locating Sasuke, the creature seemed to be gathering chakra in front of its mouth. Sasuke's eyes widened before he dashed away from the scene, running as fast as he could.

Behind him, there was a deafening crash as some part was blown into oblivion. "OH YES," the voice said, causing Sasuke to raise an eyebrow uncertainly. "BABY, I HAVEN'T BEEN FREE IN SUCH A LONG TIME. NOW, IT'S TIME TO PARTY!" As he said that, Sasuke felt the creature's paw down onto him when he felt someone grab him and move away in a second. Once they arrived, Sasuke fell to the ground and turned to thank whoever had saved him.

There was a flutter of an orange coat as Naruto rested in front of Sasuke. "You okay, buddy?" he asked, while he looked at Shukaku. Sasuke smirked and nodded, "I'm fine; it seems your speed has increased a lot." Naruto just looked at him and nodded curtly. From the distance, Sakura appeared and began to fawn over Sasuke's strength as he had held back Gaara for so long but Naruto had to come up with a plan.

"Sasuke," Naruto said. "Doesn't your Susanoo also have a lower body? Try summoning that." Sasuke nodded and activated his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan; he immediately summoned his skeletal Susanoo, which became armoured, and then began to rise in height. Naruto nodded; this was perfect! He activated his Rinnegan and went through a few hand-seals, "**Summoning Jutsu.**" To his luck, Naruto had summoned Gamabunta and he stood upon the Chief Toad.

"I SEE YOU GUYS ARE FIRST," Shukaku yelled. "ALRIGHT, I'VE BEEN WANTIN' TO GET SOME FOR A WHILE." Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and nodded. "Hey, Chief," Naruto said. "That guy there is Shukaku; if we don't stop him, he's gonna destroy Konoha and it'll be the Kyuubi Incident again." Gamabunta nodded and drew his sword. While he had treated Naruto with disdain, the boy's Rinnegan and determination had changed his mind.

"Alright," Gamabunta grinned. "He only has one tail so this shouldn't be a probably." Shukaku had heard that and gave a mad roar; he apparently didn't like being called the weakest of the Bijuu. Sasuke prepared himself and his Susanoo went into its final form; its armour became more structured and a beak-like helmet covered the head. It had an Amaterasu orb on its right palm and a bow on its left palm. "This is my maximum," Sasuke said. "Susanoo can't get any stronger than this." Naruto nodded and prepared himself. Shukaku gave a shriek before charging towards the two. The two boys rushed to meet him, their unique doujutsus flaring at the upcoming fight.


	14. Chapter 14

I've had Jiraiya reveal his Sage Mode early on and Orochimaru has shown his Eight Branches Technique; Sasuke and Naruto are now gonna fight Gaara with everything they got. Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 14:** _Search for Tsunade Begins__  
_

Gamaken was flung backwards as all of the eight heads slammed into his shield (actually a cracked plate). Jiraiya quickly got up and yelled, "**Fire Style: Big Flame Bullet.**" The fire attack, powered by senjutsu, collided against Orochimaru but the latter's tails waved the attack aside. "So weak," Orochimaru laughed. "Is this the best you can do?"

"No," Jiraiya said and brought out his enhanced Rasengan. "**Ultra Giant Rasengan.**" This was one of his strongest attacks and could carve away an entire mountain; he slammed it into Orochimaru's side, causing the snake sannin to howl in pain. There was a large explosion as Orochimaru hit the ground with a thud.

"Is it over?" Pa asked. Ma leaned forward expectantly but Jiraiya shook his head. Sure enough, Orochimaru rose a second later. Four of his heads had been obliterated as well as three tails but he still looked very much alive. _Darn, _Jiraiya thought. _Pa and Ma are getting really tired; if they stop moulding natural energy, I won't be able to hold Sage Mode. _Fortunately, the elders understood Jiraiya without having to talk to him. "**Toad Oil Bullet,**" Jiraiya yelled, expelling a large volume of oil at Orochimaru. The hydra was immediately covered in the thick substance, allowing the Toad Sage to retreat.

Jiraiya took cover behind Hashirama's large trees and talked with the elders on a plan. He kept still so his Sage Mode could stay longer. "Taijutsu is useless," Pa said. "That hydra is too much to handle in a hand-to-hand combat fight; Gamaken-chan isn't doing too well either and will disappear in a few minutes." Ma just groaned and said, "Fukasaku, you're always making the situation so gloomy. Why can't you-" Jiraiya held up his hand, stopping the two from arguing. "There's no time, Ma," Jiraiya said softly.

"Alright," Ma said. "I've got an idea; we'll have to use genjutsu on him and then blast him away with ninjutsu." Pa and Jiraiya nodded and began listening to Ma's plan. A few minutes later, Orochimaru had overpowered Gamaken and slammed him to the side with his five tails; the summoned toad gave a last cry before disappearing in smoke. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, Jiraiya," Orochimaru laughed. He loved it that Jiraiya wasn't able to do anything even with his mighty Sage Mode.

"I'm right here," Jiraiya said, causing Orochimaru to turn around. Pa and Ma were already focusing on the genjutsu so Jiraiya would have to go all-out with taijutsu and ninjutsu; he had decided to use Orochimaru's size as an advantage. He quickly ran towards the hydra, who swung its tails at Jiraiya. Using Sage Mode's sensory, Jiraiya dodged and leaped on one of the necks. He quickly went downwards, causing Orochimaru to flail around and tried to throw the Toad Sage off.

"**Frog Strike,**" Jiraiya yelled and thrust his palm into Orochimaru's hide. The ripples of natural energy pierced through Orochimaru's white scales and destroyed one of its heads. Then he sensed a tail attacking him, so Jiraiya leaped to the side. He was about to try some more Frog Kata on Orochimaru, but he hadn't expected the snake sannin to rise out of the scales and kick him in the gut. "Since this is my jutsu," Orochimaru laughed. "I can rise out from anywhere I want in my human form."

The hydra turned to the fallen Jiraiya, looking at him with evil, reptilian eyes. "You're finished," Orochimaru stated. He was sucked in by the hydra and it lunged for the kill. Jiraiya sprang to his feet at the last second and managed to dodge the fangs. The ground next to him was pulverized by Orochimaru, who quickly rose out of the debris.

Orochimaru appeared out of the head of one hydra. "You're going down, Jiraiya," he laughed and the Sword of Kusanagi came out of his mouth. Then, the hydra charged towards Jiraiya, sword poised to kill. "Now," Ma and Pa yelled. "**Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant.**" Immediately, Orochimaru was stopped and his yellow eyes widened.**  
**

In Orochiamaru's mind, he was trapped in some sort of space with four Toad samurai warriors holding him. He tried to move and found there was a black barrier around him. "LET ME GO," Orochimaru yelled. He tried to jump out but was electrocuted. _Is this a genjutsu? _Orochimaru wondered. Then, it hit him; the frogs had been gathering chakra for this technique while Jiraiya distracted him. Orochimaru closed his eyes and began to release a large amount of chakra; he hoped that he wouldn't be killed in the outside world.

However, Jiraiya was immeidately on the move; he quickly backed away and began a series of hand-seals. Ma and Pa also went through a series of hand-seals before their collaboration technique occured. "**Sage Art: Toad Oil Bullet,**" Jiraiya yelled as he shot a massive quantity of oil at Orochimaru's petrified body. The oil caught on the scales and held on. "**Sage Art: Wind Release Stream,**" Pa yelled and expelled a large gust of wind. It propelled the oil and spread it even further around the body. Finally, Ma initiated the attack by yelling, "**Sage Art: Fire Release Stream.**" The entire hydra caught on fire and was inside a raging inferno of flames; Jiraiya sagged back as he watched his former team-mate burn as the area was filled with oil burning at thousands of degrees.**  
**

Eventually, the hydra's ashes went up in smoke and the Sword of Kusanagi clanged onto the floor. _I'll give this to Naruto as a gift of becoming chunin, _Jiraiya thought. He took out an empty storage scroll and kept the katana inside it before putting the scroll away. "We have to go, Jiraiya-chan," Pa said, causing Jiraiya to nod tiredly. "Take care of yourself, Jiraiya-chan," Ma added. "You should visit us more often and show us that Naruto Uzumaki boy you were talking about."

The Toad Sage nodded and thanked them. They disappeared in smoke and the drained Jiraiya slumped to the ground. He was losing his conscience fast and didn't notice as a tiny white snake came out of the burning hydra. It left through a hole in the roof. _I hope Naruto defeats the other jinchuuriki, _Jiraiya thought. He then collapsed on the floor, knocked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shukaku easily pushed Gamabunta backwards, kicking the elderly toad in the gut. "AHH," the Chief Toad yelled. He sliced through Shukaku's ear with his sword, but it was quickly regenerated. "You fool," Shukaku laughed. "I'm made of sand; you can't hurt me." As he and Gamabunta locked arms, Sasuke appeared and his Susanoo grasped Shuaku from behind. "LET GO OF ME," Shukaku roared.

Naruto quickly went through a series of hand-seals. The Deva Path wouldn't work against something as dense like Shukaku. "Let's see how you like this, raccoon," the blonde yelled. "**Explosion Style: Exploding Dragon.**" A large dragon of sparks collided against Shukaku, resulting in a massive explosion. Susanoo fell back but Sasuke regained his footing and moved away. Shukaku went flying through the air and sanded on his back.

"**Dark Style: Shadow Inferno,**" Naruto yelled, unrelenting. A string of shadows turned into a massive inferno and slammed into Shukaku, giving him massive cuts on his arms and legs. Not wanting Naruto to hog all of the fun, Sasuke used his own bloodline. "**Blaze Style: Susanoo Kagutsuchi,**" Sasuke yelled and his Susanoo got a whip made of black flames. Susanoo twirled the whip around Shukaku's throat, burning him badly. As the raccoon screamed, Sasuke focused even more chakra into his eyes. "This is a new one," he said. "**Blaze Style: Raging Hurricane.**" The Amaterasu rotated into a hurricane and crashed against Shukaku, burying the Bijuu into the soil and charring his skin.

"Alright," Naruto smiled. "It looks like we got him." Sasuke nodded and allowed himself a grin; but then, Shukaku rose with its wounds all regenerated. "You guys are strong," Shukaku admitted. "BUT IT'LL TAKE WAY MORE THAN THAT TO KILL ME; LET ME TASTE YOUR BLOOD." He leaped towards Gamabunta and Susanoo, grabbing the toad and ethereal warrior with a hand each. He flung them aside, sending them flying through the air. Gamabunta gave a groan but managed to get up; Susanoo also got up.

"YOU GUYS ARE PATHETIC," Shukaku laughed. "DON'T TELL ME YOU GUYS ARE EXHAUSTED." Naruto pumped his fist and yelled back, "YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR US, FAT LOSER. YOU'RE THE WEAKEST OF ALL THE TAILED BEASTS, DON'T FORGET THAT." Shukaku's face turned into a darker shade of yellow and came charging towards Naruto and Gamabunta.

"**Blaze Style: Yasaka Magatama,**" Sasuke yelled and Susanoo fired a series of black-flamed projectiles at Shukaku. The Ichibi dodged the first two, batted aside the next three, and was ultimately hit by the last two. Gamabunta took this opportunity to engage Shukaku in combat; he dug his sword into the raccoon's side and punched it in the face. The Ichibi blocked the toad's next punch before he gave a sharp uppercut, sending the Chief Toad flying. Naruto had already jumped off Gamabunta and went through hand-seals, "**Crystal Style: Giant Crystal Lance.**" His hand became a massive lance of blue crystal; Naruto separated it from his arm and threw it to Shukaku.

The sand demon released a wave of sand and it crashed into Naruto's crystalline lance. Another wave of sand swept towards Naruto, who quickly used his Swift Style: Orange Flash to disappear in an orange blur and moved back to Gamabunta. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU," Shukaku yelled. "**Bijuu Bomb.**" He released an enormous blast of black chakra at Naruto. The latter held out his left hand and yelled, "**Dark Style: Inhaling Maw.**" As he absorbed the attack, Naruto soon found that he couldn't absorb any more or his hand would explode.

"**Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal,**" Naruto yelled, and began absorbing the other excess energy. This time, he could feel his own chakra beginning to return again and fortunately, the attack was fully absorbed. Naruto looked at wonder as his chakra had almost fully been restored and his left hand's diamond-like structures were glowing with power. "Do you want it back?" Naruto asked since Shukaku looked pissed. "YOU ABSORBED **MY **CHAKRA," Shukaku roared. "YES, I WANT IT ALL BACK."

"I can't give it all back," Nauto grinned. "But you can have half of it back; **Dark Style: Judgement.**" An enormous torrent of blue flames, around the size of Shukaku's blast, crashed into Shukaku. The Ichibi roared as it felt the intensity of the flames and Sasuke chose that moment to add his own jutsu. "**Amaterasu,**" he yelled and Naruto's blue flames were mixed with Sasuke's black ones. Shukaku's body was almost completely melted as it fell on the ground.

Sasuke panted and his Susanoo lost its armour, becoming skeletal again. "Did we do it?" the Uchiha asked Naruto. The blonde nodded but remained standing; he still had around half of his chakra left due to absorbing Shukaku's blast with the Preta Path. Then, as he was about to dismiss Gamabunta, two hands shot out of the sand. Sasuke's Susanoo and Gamabunta were grabbed by the neck and dragged into the churning sand. "He's still alive?!" Sasuke and Naruto yelled as they were dragged in.

"I don't have a lot of chakra left," Sasuke said. "Naruto, you're gonna have to do the final move. I'll make it easier for you, though." He then crouched and went through a familiar set of hand-seals. "**Chidori,**" Sasuke yelled. "**One Thousand Birds.**" He quickly shot off, pushing chakra into his heels; Sasuke arrived to see the weakened Shukaku with Gaara at the head. He was about to smash his hand into the red-haired jinchuuriki but sand grabbed him.

"Sasuke," Naruto yelled. Sasuke then closed his eyes for a moment before yelling, "**Chidori Nagashi.**" The sand around him exploded as lightning burst from Sasuke's entire body and then, the Uchiha thrust his left hand into the epicentre of Shukaku's melted head, right next to Gaara. Shukaku gave a roar as a large part of it's body was destroyed. Sasuke gave a thumbs up to Naruto before he slumped to the ground.

"Alright," Naruto grinned. "It's time to do this: **Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" He summoned two clones, who began to rotate and push chakra into the air above his palm. Naruto had the regular Rasengan ready before it became more whitish and concentrated, looking like a small shuriken. "Take this, Shukaku," Naruto yelled. "**Wind Style: Rasengan.**" He threw the attack at Shukaku's melted head and a massive explosion occurred.

Since Sasuke's Susanoo had disintegrated, Gamabunta was the only one being held by Shukaku and the latter's arm fell to the ground after Naruto's attack. The blonde let out a triumphant cry as the last remnants of Shukaku dissipated into the air. Gaara looked around and saw Naruto. "YOU," he said. "I WON'T LOSE." He charged at Naruto, cocking back his fist. Naruto wanted to teach Gaara a lesson so he also cocked his fist back and jumped at Gaara.

Naruto was a second faster and his fist slammed into Gaara's face, sending the red-haired jinchuuriki crashing to the floor. Naruto stood on the earth, his face bruised and cut and his clothes were dirty. "I'm not scared," Gaara smirked. "You're gonna kill me now, aren't you?" Naruto observed him for a moment before shaking his head, shocking Gaara. "You lost," the blonde said. "Why would I kill you?"

"Don't you also want to validate your existence?" Gaara asked. "I sensed the demon inside you; you're like me. You kill to prove your existence!" Naruto just laughed and shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I forgive people if they want to become good and have no reason to kill unless they've done something wrong. To prove my existence, I continue to save my friends."

"Friends?" Gaara asked as if the word was foreign to him. "What are friends? They're just people who hold you back; they're weak and should be eliminated. Only strong ones like us should live. We should only live for ourselves; to prove our existence."

"That's stupid," Naruto said. He sat on a rock, grimacing his legs hurt. "Shinobi are there to protect the weak ones that cannot defend themselves; why should we kill them if they've done nothing wrong?"

"WE DID NOTHING WRONG," Gaara yelled. "YET EVERYBODY HATED US; I'VE SEEN PEOPLE GLARE AT YOU. WHY DO YOU STILL CARE ABOUT THEM?"

"You know," Naruto smiled. "I used to hate everybody; I wanted to know why they hated me when I hadn't done anything wrong. So I did pranks to get peoples' attention and it made me feel... alive. It didn't matter if they chased after me and wanted to kill me; I felt like I had a life. Then, I met Iruka-sensei and Team 7; I found a best friend in Sasuke. So, I don't care if people hate me; I will protect the people close to me with my life since that is the way... I feel alive."

"You validate your existence," Gaara said, shocked, "by protecting ones that are weaker than you?"

"Yeah," Naruto smiled slightly. "They made me feel like I was alive and treated me like somebody; I don't know if they'll ever change but I know that I will always look up to them for that. I'm grateful to them and because of that, I will protect this village by becoming Hokage." Gaara's eyes had tears in them and he began to cry as he realized the mistakes in his life; Naruto was happy that he had gotten through to Gaara.

"Naruto," Sasuke said from behind him. "Is that true? I know that people treated you badly but I didn't know that _I _was such a motivation to you." Naruto smiled and nodded, "I've always looked up to you, Sasuke. You inspired me to be a great ninja and I wanted to protect you, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei and everybody else."

"Thanks," Sasuke smiled. "That means a lot, Naruto!" He had never had anyone close to him since the Uchiha Massacre; it felt like Itachi and Naruto were now his brothers. He would also stay with them and become stronger so they could take down the harbinger of disaster: Madara Uchiha. "Naruto," Sasuke whispered, causing the blonde to turn around. "Let's... let's beat Madara together." Naruto paused before nodding. "Sure, Sasuke," he said and Sasuke knew that he would never let anybody harm his family again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temari took Gaara while Naruto and Sakura supported Sasuke. They went back to the Hidden Leaf and found that Konoha's boundaries were destroyed along with some buildings at the perimeters. They were also some destroyed buildings in the interior but almost everything inside the walls of Konoha were fine or easily fixable. ANBU came to take Gaara and Temari away while Team 7 was encountered by Kakashi. "I'm impressed," he said. "Naruto and Sasuke, your energies could be detected from that distance. Good job on taking down Gaara!"

"No problem," Sasuke said. "Although Naruto did the final blow, really." Kakashi's eyebrow rose up; he was surprised that Sasuke had admitted that Naruto had done more than him. _Seems that they've developed a true bond with each other, _the Copy Ninja thought, happily. Sakura was also surprised but she knew that Naruto's story had gotten to Sasuke more than the blonde would probably understand.

"Sensei," Naruto said. "What do we do now? Can we help Konoha in some way?" The other two nodded and Kakashi shook his head, saying, "There's nothing you _can _do; Sasuke, your brother wants to see you. Naruto, Jiraiya-sama wants to see you and Sakura, you can take the day off." Naruto and Sasuke nodded; the Uchiha waved to Naruto and left to see Itachi while Sakura left to go home.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, seriously. "What exactly happened while I was fighting Gaara?" Kakashi nodded and explained everything to him; Sarutobi, Mei, and A were hospitalized after fighting the reincarnated Kage and Jiraiya was with them since he took down Orochimaru. "Gosh," Naruto said. "I wouldn't have thought that Orochimaru would be able to bring back the dead."

"Well, he must've had some plan," Kakashi said. "I don't think he would ever launch an assault against Konoha without being prepared; especially if there were two more Kage on the Sandaime's side. Now go, as I think there are some other matters they want to discuss." Naruto nodded but asked a final question, "Where are you going, sensei?"

"Oh, me," Kakashi laughed. "I've received a ton of missions and have to go to Kiri and Kumo to deliver the news about their Mizukage and Raikage respectively." Naruto nodded and wished him success; he was on his way to meet the Kages and Jiraiya. On the way, Naruto came across the two spots in the village where there had been attacks. He shuddered as he saw the dead civilians were dragged away by several chunin. _Orochimaru, _Naruto clenched his teeth. _If I had gotten my hands on you..._

When he arrived, Naruto found the four of them chatting amiably. "Hey," Naruto said, causing them to look at him. He saw Mei blushing slightly while the Raikage examined him. Sarutobi beamed at him while Jiraiya just laughed, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Naruto, come join us, my boy." He went to Jiraiya's bed and sat on the side. "You look like a grandfather," Sarutobi chuckled while Jiraiya fake-glared at his former teacher.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked Jiraiya. "Oh that," the Sannin smirked. "The Kages here wanted to hear of your battle; you should describe everything." Naruto nodded and told the three everything; around ten minutes later, he saw A's impressed look, Sarutobi's proud look, and Mei's flustered look. _What's wrong with her? _Naruto wondered. He hoped that she wasn't attracted to him; he already had a crush on Yugito and she seemed to like him too, or at least he hoped that their kiss meant something.

"Amazing," A said. "You and the Uchiha managed to take down a Bijuu; even by a Kage's standards, that's some power you got there, kid." Naruto rubbed his head and thanked the Raikage. "Indeed," Sarutobi said. "You will be rewarded handsomely; now, we also to discuss the matter of the new Hokage." Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Why are you retiring, old man?"

"Come now, Naruto," Sarutobi smiled. "I've become weak by now; in my prime, Konoha was incredibly strong and nothing could get past its defences. I am ashamed to say that Orochimaru found out a weak spot and easily came in. He would have killed us if Jiraiya hadn't intervened and killed Orochimaru. Thus, there will need to be a new Hokage." As the four turned to look at Jiraiya, the Toad Sage sat up and placed his arms in a 'V'.

"Nope," he said. "I can't become Hokage; I'm already running a spy network and am passing information to the Hokage as it is. Not to mention, my lovely research-" He didn't finish since Mei was glaring at him icily. Jiraiya quickly slumped into his covers and Mei withdrew her look, smiling at Naruto sheepishly. "So who's gonna become Hokage?" Naruto asked.

"If Jiraiya won't do it," Sarutobi sighed. "Then, the next options are Tsunade and Kakashi." He left out Itachi since the Kages didn't know about him not being a rogue ninja yet; Sarutobi had no idea how they would respond to that. Besides, Itachi would soon re-join ANBU Black-Ops and begin going on special missions from the Hokage. That left only Tsunade and Kakashi.

Mei joined the conversation for the first time. "I've heard that Tsunade has been missing for a long time," she said in her silky voice. "I doubt that anybody even knows where she is currently. I used to play with her when we were young." Sarutobi's eyes had a cold look in them and he said steely, "She is still a Konoha ninja and thus, I _can _order her to return. Besides, Tsunade goes around everywhere using her Sannin status and credits."

"What about Kakashi Hatake?" A asked. "He is known worldwide as having copied a thousand jutsu; with his Sharingan, Kakashi would make an excellent Hokage." Sarutobi thought for a moment before he said, "We can make him a candidate Hokage until Tsunade comes back; you see, Kakashi lacks experience and does not have great stamina." The other four nodded.

"Alright," A said. "So Tsunade of the Sannin is going to be the Godaime Hokage, huh? I've heard of her; she has been known to have the greatest chakra control in the whole word and is incredibly good at Medical Ninjutsu. She is also the granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama."

"She is the master of using chakra," Sarutobi smiled. "Tsunade can use her chakra to heal wounds, increase her strength, and many others." They nodded, believing that Tsunade would be an excellent Fifth Hokage. "Naruto and Jiraiya," Sarutobi said. "You two will be tasked with finding Tsunade and bring her here immediately; do whatever possible to bring her back."

"Hold on a second," A smiled. "I want to see the new Hokage so I will be sending Yugito with Naruto and Jiraiya-san. Is that acceptable?" Sarutobi nodded and Mei also said, "I also want to go with them; not only does Kirigakure want to see the new Hokage but I also want to meet my childhood friend again." This time, the Sandaime thought for a while but nodded ultimately.

"Naruto," Sarutobi said. "You're dismissed; go rest since you will leave on your mission next week." Naruto nodded but asked A, "Where is Yugito-chan?" Everyone there noticed the '-chan- suffix and Mei's eyebrow ticked but resumed her normal look again. "She should be at her lodge, resting," A said, smiling as he pictured Naruto and Yugito together.

"Thanks, guys," he waved. "I'll see you guys later then; I hope you get better." They also waved and watched the blonde open the door. He disappeared in an orange flash. "He's a lot like his father," A said and the others nodded. "He has Minato's speed, almost identical clothes, and same hairstyle. I wonder if he's the Child of Prophecy."

"He is," Jiraiya said, firmly. "The Toad Elder predicted that a student of mine would become Hokage and since he has the Sage of the Six Paths' eyes, I've become completely sure that he's the Child of Prophecy." Sarutobi nodded and said, "I would have actually made him Hokage if he had more experience; Naruto has the potential to become Rokudaime Hokage after Tsunade if he improves at this rate." They nodded before beginning to discuss political matters.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Naruto," Yugito yelled as she saw Naruto at her doorstep. Once she had gathered enough energy, Yugito had met A in the hospital; Jiraiya told her that he had sensed Naruto fighting Shukaku. She had worried about him and had hoped that he would live; she laughed, relieved, and hugged the blonde. Naruto was surprised as Yugito hugged him before he wrapped his hands around her lithe shape. "I'm still alive," Naruto said. She nodded. "I told you that I wouldn't die; Sasuke and me are the best team. We took down a Bijuu although it was extremely exhausting."

"I can imagine," Yugito said, breaking free from the embrace. She didn't mention anything about their kiss and Naruto avoided the topic as well. "You did a good job," Naruto complimented. "You saved Konoha with your powers and I'm grateful to you." Yugito smiled and waved her hands, "I didn't do that much; Jiraiya-sama did most of the fighting."

"That pervert?" Naruto was surprised. "Have some respect," Yugito chided. "He's one of the Legendary Sannin _and _saved the Raikage, Hokage, and Mizukage by defeating another Sannin, Orochimaru. He also protected the village with his toad summons; Jiraiya-sama is quite the hero now." Naruto laughed; he could imagine Jiraiya saying something about that.

"Did Gaara fully transform?" Yugito asked. Naruto nodded and she felt fear grip her. "You could have died," she said. "I don't want to lose you; you're one of my closest friends." Naruto felt his heart shatter as she said that. _God dammit, _the blonde cursed mentally. _I got friend-zoned badly; I should have known she doesn't think of me like that. _While it pained him, Naruto gave Yugito his best smile. "We're gonna have a mission," he told her, causing her eyebrows to rise.

"So soon?" Yugito said. "It must be something of great importance then; what is it?"

"We have to find Tsunade of the Sannin," he explained. "Ero-Sennin is currently running a spy network so he can't become Hokage and Kakashi-sensei doesn't have enough experience, as they say." Yugito thought for a while before she said, "I see their point; Itachi Uchiha also has the capabilities but he's currently working under the Sandaime now."

"You know about Itachi?" Naruto asked. "I don't think I ever told you about him." Yugito just shook her head and muttered, "Baka." She looked at him and said, "Don't you think that he would be trying to protect Konoha, as well? I met him and Zabuza Momochi yet I haven't said anything to A, yet." Naruto looked at her and knew that she would spill the next time she saw A and if Mei heard it, there would be a lot of problems.

"Please, Mei," Naruto clapped his hands. "Don't tell the Raikage anything about this; this is a secret and you're bound to it. You're not even supposed to now about it, actually." Yugito thought for a moment and wondered if she should promise Naruto or tell A everything. _I'm going to regret this, _she thought. "Alright," Yugito said to Naruto. "I won't tell A anything until the Sandaime permits it."

"Thanks," Naruto exclaimed. He pulled Yugito in a hug and the Kumo jinchuuriki blushed as she felt Naruto's muscles on her side. "Hey," she pushed Naruto lightly. "Get off me, you ramen-obsessed fox." The blonde just laughed and called her a 'mean cat.' They tended to call each other the species of their Bijuu; weird right? After some time had passed, Naruto said bye to Yugito and set off towards his apartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Konoha was under re-construction; Naruto had been called by the Sandaime numerous times to help out. He had used his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu to make around three hundred shadow clones; they helped in different parts of the re-construction. There wasn't a lot of damage done but Konoha's walls needed to be re-made stronger than before and the interior of the Hidden Leaf also needed to be re-constituted. They also mourned the death of the ones that had died during service; Naruto shed a tear as he saw the crying people.

"Goodbye, Hayate," a purple-haired woman said, crying. She knelt on the proctor's tomb and placed a flower there, before moving on. All in all, the week passed quite quickly and soon, it was time for the four of them to set out. Naruto was quite shocked that Mei had volunteered to go on this mission by herself. _She has got a lot of backbone, _Naruto thought. He had never seen a Kage go on a mission since Sarutobi had always done paperwork when Naruto saw him.

"YOSH," Yugito growled. "It's time to bring Tsunade back as the Godaime Hokage. Do you guys have any idea where to look for her?" Naruto shook his head and looked at Jiraiya expectantly. The Toad Sage held up his hands, "Yo, look, I may have been her team mate but she completely disappeared more than a decade ago." Their shoulders slumped since the Great Jiraiya himself had no idea; notice the sarcasm in that phrase. "But you gotta have some idea, right, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Jiraiya smirked. "I do have some idea; Tsunade is known as the Legendary Sucker. She gambles a lot and tends to lose a lot of money. My spies have also reported that she was spotted crossing Katabami Kinzan, a village in the Land of Rivers. So that's where we'll be going first." Yugito and Naruto nodded, hefting their packs. Then, they heard a rustle of leaves and Mei appeared. "Good morning, Mei-san," Jiraiya bowed. Mei waved him aside and said, "I heard everything; let's go now."

Yugito, Naruto, Mei, and Jiraiya were already on their way. Jiraiya was interested in how strong Naruto had gotten and wanted the boy to show his powers on this search if they encountered any ninja. Mei had similar thoughts: _I want to see how much power he has, _she thought. While Naruto had shown a lot of strength back in the Chunin Exams, Mei knew that he had been holding back heavily against Neji and wished she could have seen his battle against Shukaku to properly gauge his power.

They set on their way to the Land of Rivers, which was estimated to take a day to reach. "Naruto," Jiraiya said. "We have to continue your training; since Mei-sama is here, you can get some tips from her. After all, she is the Godaime Mizukage." Naruto looked at Mei and bowed while the red-haired Mizukage unconsciously licked her lips. _Oh I can teach you a few things, _Mei thought inwardly. Yugito saw the action and her eyebrow ticked. _She can't possibly be thinking of Naruto like that, could she?! _the Kumo jinchuuriki wondered. They continued on their road until the sun set and had to stay at a local lodge.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I see," Obito smiled. This was perfect! "So Naruto is outside the village, eh? Go and capture him!" He was going to say more but Kisame cut in. "He's travelling with the Nibi's jinchuuriki, Mizukage, and Jiraiya of the Sannin," the blue-skinned man said. "Are you sure this is a good decision, Madara-san?" Obito looked at Kisame, activating his Mangekyou Sharingan. Kisame backed down, any other retort dying.

"That's exactly why, Kisame," Obito said as his eyes reverted to the regular Sharingan. "You see, this is a good way of capturing _two _jinchuuriki, killing Jiraiya of the troublesome Sannin, and bringing Kiri under my control. I lost it once after the Yagura incident but this is another way of regaining a village to my collection. Oh, Hidan and Kakuzu, I have a mission for you."

"Any Bijuu you want us to collect?" Kakuzu said while Hidan continued his prayers to Jaishin-sama. Obito nodded, pleased with the man's steady words. "I want you to subjugate two Bijuu for me," the masked Uchiha prompted. "You need to take down Roshi of the Lava Style and the Sanbi; I've heard that the Three-Tails resides in a massive lake close to Otogakure. As for Roshi, I have no idea where he is so you need to track him down."

Hidan entered the conversation. "When is our deadline?" the immortal man asked. "Since you need two Bijuus down, there must be some urgency you have, right?" Obito smiled; apparently, the blockhead _could _indeed use his brain, even if just a little. "Indeed," he said. "I need to take Naruto Uzumaki down before he hones his skills; if he take him down now and steal his Rinnegan, I can initiate Project Tsuki no Me immediately. And for that, I need all of the tailed beasts as soon as possible."

"What are our orders?" Sasori asked, causing Obito to turn to him. "Do you want us to attack Naruto now?"

"Yes," Obito said. "You will trail him and then, bring him here alive. I will take his Rinnegan eyes and the Kyuubi will be sealed by the Gedo Mazo. The Nibi will also be extracted from Yugito Nii. As for Jiraiya, you are allowed to kill him. But not the Mizukage; bring her here and then, I will put her under a genjutsu. Following that, Kiri will be under my control once again. Sasori, Deidara, Konan, and Kisame; you are to head out immediately."

"Aren't we using the Shape-shifting Jutsu?" Deidara asked. "Are you actually telling us to pursue them?"

"Oh my god," Obito slapped his mask at Deidara's dumbness. "The Shape-shifting Jutsu was so Konan, Kisame, and Itachi could get into Konoha without their immense chakra levels being detected. Now, Naruto and his little friends are outside the Hidden Leaf's protection, we can easily get him and there is no risk of being detected in the middle of a Shinobi Village. Get it, artist?" Deidara nodded, glaring at Obito after the masked Uchiha left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto groaned as he carried the three wounded men on his back; he had been training next to a stream, a kilometre away his lodge, when he found these three in the stream. Since he couldn't just leave them there, Naruto had decided to take them to their hotel. "Hang in there, guys," Naruto reassured since the men began to stir. "We're almost there, don't worry." He would have reached the hotel in minutes if he used his Swift Style but that was impossible with three extra weights on his own.

"Naruto," Yugito yelled. "Who are these guys?" She wondered what her blonde friend had been up to since the morning and he came back to the hotel with three beat-up men on his back.

"I don't know," Naruto said. "I found them in the water when I was training. I was hoping Ero-Sennin could tell me about them." He went into the hotel and up to their room; he set down the three men on his bed.

"Jiraiya-sama won't be here until several hours," Yugito said. "He's off doing research; let's go to the swimming pool after you grab your kit." Naruto hesitated at leaving the three men but formed two shadow clones to keep watch. Then, he opened his closet and took out his swimming kit before leaving with Yugito. Naruto entered the lounge and settled into a chair beside the swimming pool.

He had never really looked at Yugito in a swimsuit before and he had to say that she looked smoking hot; her hair was loose and ran down her shoulders, which glistened in the sun. Naruto held his eyes on her large cleavage for a moment before he berated himself and looked away, blushing slightly. _What the hell, _the blonde thought. _I shouldn't be looking at those things; if only Ero-Sennin knew. _Yugito smiled as she saw the effect she had on Naruto and had to admit that he was good-looking himself. Naruto's six-pack looked firm and there was not a single trace of fat on his body.

Yugito felt several women stare at Naruto and she made to sure growl at them, scaring them off. "What are you doing, Yugito?" Naruto asked as it came to his attention. "I'm getting some attention and you're scaring the chicks away." Yugito looked at him for a moment before smirking, "You're right, Naruto. Besides, there are several men looking at me. And that one; should I ask his number and village?"

"NO," Naruto said, a little forcefully. He blushed and Yugito laughed. "Dude, chill," she said. "I was only joking; he doesn't seem to be a ninja. I make it a rule to date only ninja." The blonde smiled and wondered if Yugito liked him in the slightest in a different way. He desperately wanted to believe that their kiss before his fight with Gaara meant something but Yugito was completely acting like a normal friend.

"HOLY," someone gasped next to them. Naruto and Yugito turned to see a sight that made their eyeballs almost fall out; Mei had just entered the pool. She had a gorgeous, lithe body and had ample cleavage to satisfy anybody's wildest dreams. Her lush mane of red hair fell over most of her backside and Mei smiled seductively at the boys, making them cover their pants with whatever they could get.

Mei gave a show, splashing with some water, before she went to a blanket. As she lay done, the Godaime Mizukage dried herself and then, to everyone's surprise, said, "Naruto, can you come here, darling?" The blonde gulped like a fish and nodded dumbly; he went over to the red-haired beauty, seemingly unaware of the jealousy of the all of the other men there. "Naruto," Mei purred his name, causing Naruto to sweat profusely. "Can you rub some oil on my back, darling?"

"Um, yeah," Naruto said slowly. "I can, uh, do that." He sat down in the chair next to her and gathered some oil in his hands. Then, Naruto slowly pushed Mei's hair aside and rubbed a bit of the oil on her back. "Oh, yeah!" Mei said. "Rub it there." Naruto felt beads of sweat on his forehead and chest but continued to obey the Mizukage. He rubbed the oil on her back, feeling her smooth skin and curve.

"So, Naruto," Mei said. "Tell me, what is your reason for being a shinobi?" Naruto let out a small breath as the conversation became casual; he took a moment before telling her.

"It's quite simple," Naruto smiled. "I want to be a shinobi so I can protect those weaker than me, especially my close friends and people I care about." He felt proud of his goal since Mei seemed impressed.

"You have a big heart, Naruto," the Godaime said. "Most people become shinobi for exercise and adventure; you're probably the first person I've seen that actually wants to protect the civilians."

"Oh not just the civilians," Naruto said, adding some more oil to her back. "It can be shinobi or even Kage; if I ever see anyone in trouble, I will not hesitate to help them. And I never go back on my word; that's my nindo." Mei smiled at Naruto as the blonde ninja said that. _What a pure-hearted boy, _she thought. Naruto was one hell of a man and could probably have any girlfriend in the world if he showed them this side.

"Say, Naruto," Mei decided to ask him about that. "You're very attractive and heroic; how come you don't have a girlfriend?" Naruto blushed as she asked that and took a moment before answering; he specially massaged Mei's back, earning a few satisfied growls and purrs from the red-haired beauty.

"I'm a really late bloomer," Naruto said simply. "I failed the Academy four times before I passed and also with the lowest scores; since Sasuke was the best in the class and also the hottest, all of the girls wanted to date him. They didn't really notice me."

"Really?" Mei asked. "You seem as strong, if not stronger, than a jonin! You have the Rinnegan, several Kekkei Genkai, and have an affinity for all basic elements. On top of that, you have amazing speed and strength with your taijutsu being effective and swift. Are you telling me that you did all of this in only a couple of months?"

"Exactly," Naruto nodded, surprising Mei. "I've been training intensely after the Academy and since I awakened the Rinnegan, things are looking good for me. I have no problem in my life now and I just hope that I'm strong enough to take on the next challenges." Naruto spread oil around her waist, causing Mei to give another purr. _Man, I'm getting turned on,_ Naruto thought. He hoped that he wouldn't get too aroused and tried to relax.

"So is there any girl that you feel something to?" Mei finally laid the question. "You are an Uzumaki and have the Rinnegan; sooner or later, you're going to have to wed and have kids. Is there any girl that you have intense feelings to or are attracted to, simply put?"

_You, _Naruto thought, thinking about his current situation. "Well there is somebody," the blonde said, thinking about Yugito. "She's very close and we've kissed once; I really like her but I don't know if she likes me back." Mei smiled. _She does, Naruto, _the Godaime Mizukage wanted to say. _You and Yugito both have feelings for each other; of course, I also want to get some. _"I'm sure she does," Mei prompted. "It's incredibly hard not to like you, Naruto, and if you both know each well enough, then I think she likes you as well."

"Thanks, Mei-chan," Naruto said, forgetting about her status. Mei's face lit up as she heard the '-chan' suffix and thought, _You're so lucky, Yugito. Just take your chance! _But she knew that the Nibi jinchuuriki would take some time before she came to terms with her feelings for Naruto. In the mean time, Mei could have some fun with Naruto since it was clear that the blonde wanted her. _Maybe I can take him out to a date, _Mei wondered.

"You can go now, Naruto-kun," Mei said and Naruto nodded. "Thanks for the massage, darling." Naruto blushed slightly and tried to avoid looking at Mei's private areas so he quickly left the oil bottle and took his towel. He had sensed Yugito leave a while ago so Naruto decided to also go back to the room. However, the blonde came to find that Yugito had discarded her swimming clothes on the bed and had went outside. _Probably to train, _Naruto realized. He took a shower and then, slept for a while. In his mindscape, Naruto continued practising from Nagato's scrolls.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"YO," Jiraiya said, laughing perversely as he entered their room. "I've done a lot of work, today." Naruto and Yugito looked at the pervert and nodded sarcastically. "Yeah right," Naruto said. "You really expect us to believe that, Ero-Sennin!" Mei's face became shocked and Jiraiya exploded, his face becoming insanely red.

"GAKI," he roared. "Treat me with some respect; you will call me Jiraiya-sensei. I am your teacher and will receive the proper respect." Naruto nodded and cleaned his ear. "Whatever you say, old man," the blonde scoffed, causing Jiraiya's eyebrow to tick. "I'll soon become stronger than the Sannin."

"That's gonna take a while," Jiraiya said. But he knew that Naruto was quite close to his level without senjutsu; the blonde could probably surpass him in a year or two. He would have to consider Naruto becoming Hokage after Tsunade reigned for a few years. "Anyway," he prompted. "I found some information, which is essential before we go into Katabami Kinzan."

"Information?" Yugito asked, surprised. "Isn't it just some regular village in the Land of Rivers?"

"Not exactly," Jiraiya said. "Apparently, Katabami Kinzan is under pressure from Raiga Kurosuki, one of the former Swordsman of the Mist."

"I know him," Mei's face darkened. "He abandoned the Hidden Mist a while before Zabuza and Kisame; he's known to wield the infamous Kiba, twin swords that can channel lightning. He is easily ANBU-level so we must be very careful. But how did he gain control over this village?"

"Well," Jiraiya said, taking a sip of tea. "Katabami Kinzan was a village that specialized in finding ore and processing it into gold. Many of the Shinobi Nations have taken gold from the Land of Rivers for several centuries, because of this. There were many corrupt government officials and they imposed high taxes on the villagers; Raiga Kurosuki came and overthrew them without much effort."

"So shouldn't he be a hero?" Naruto asked, confused. "Why is the village under Raiga's command, then?"

"Don't interrupt and you'll find out," Jiraiya glared. "Anyway, the villagers eventually found out Raiga's true nature; Raiga held several funerals for people that went against him or if he didn't like them particularly. He even cried in front of the villagers, mocking them with his tears. So now, Katabami Kinzan's situation is a lot like the Land of Waves before Naruto helped."

"Naruto did what?" Mei and Yugito asked, surprised. They didn't know that Naruto had helped liberate a land; if it had been more famous, then Naruto would have become a known ninja by now. "Jiraiya-sama," the Nibi jinchuuriki said. "What do you mean?"

"Naruto's first real mission," Jiraiya explained. "It was a C-rank mission but actually an A-rank; Kakashi the Copy Ninja was with them so they had extra help. To make the long story short, Naruto and his team helped take down Gatou and his forces so Tazuna, the bridge-builder, could complete the bridge. This bridge would connect them to the mainland and put them out of Gatou's control. Naruto even went a step ahead and killed the corrupt Gatou. The bridge was then called, 'The Great Naruto Bridge.'"

"I didn't know Naruto-kun was so famous," Mei said. She hadn't expected the blonde to have taken down one of the world's biggest shipping magnates on one of his first missions. The blonde has some serious feats! "How long will it take to reach Katabami Kinzan?" Yugito asked Jiraiya.

"I can't be precise," Jiraiya said. "But the villagers said that it would take a few hours to go there from here; we're moving out tomorrow morning. Oh and Naruto, I need you to do me a favour tomorrow morning. Now, let's go have dinner and take a long rest." Having said that, they went to the dining suite to have their dinner.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, Naruto," Jiraiya said, looking at him. "I need you to get some information on this Raiga Kurosuki; meet my spies at the entrance of the hotel in an hour. They will brief you exactly on what to do."

"Wait," Naruto said. "Is this some sort of spy mission?"

"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded, causing Naruto to grin. "Being a shinobi is not just flashy moves and great speed and you will need to learn how to stay hidden, collecting information silently. You already have a lot of experience from the Wave mission but this is augment that even more. Your mastery over the Shadow Clone Jutsu will also help a lot."

"But are you sure?" Naruto asked. "What would happen if I get caught?"

"Well," Jiraiya's face darkened. "You're going to be in a lot of trouble and Raiga Kurosuki will actually find out a lot about us before we found out about him. Now, I'm going to consult some more spies on Tsunade's locations and then, I'm off to do some research. You probably won't be at the hotel until evening." As he said that, Jiraiya disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto thought for a moment before he left in an orange blur.

An hour later, Naruto had put on his black-and-orange old clothes and met Jiraiya's spies. "So you're Naruto, eh?" one of them said. "My name is Idate and my brother's name is Santoryu. We're Jiraiya's spies stationed here. I presume he informed you about your stealth mission?" Naruto nodded.

"Good," Santoryu said. "Then, we'll take you to the building where they'll discuss some politics. Raiga Kurosuki will be there and you need to gather some information on him for your search of Lady Tsunade. Got that?" Naruto nodded again.

"Perfect," Idate smiled. "I see you're wearing black clothes; you will need these for stealth missions. And also, get used to doing more of these with me and Santoryu since Jiraiya is planning on sharing his spy network with you as time passes." Naruto grinned at that and nodded yet again. _It'll be so cool to have a spy network, _the blonde thought. _I'll get a lot of information on people._

"Alright," Santoryu said. "Follow us; Jiraiya told us that you know another high-speed technique other than the Body Flicker Jutsu." Naruto activated his Rinnegan and said, "**Swift Style: Orange Flash.**" Idate and Santoryu watched as Naruto ran laps around them in an orange blur. "Impressive," Idate said. "Alright, follow us." They disappeared in smoke and Naruto followed them using his bloodline.

They re-appeared on a rooftop, overlooking a dull cathedral. "There's nothing here," Naruto said, looking disappointed. "Weren't you guys going to take me to a political meeting?"

"Idiot," Santoryu said. "There's a barrier around this cathedral and it's affecting our senses; activate that Rinnegan of yours and take a look." Naruto re-activated his Rinnegan and looked at the cathedral. After a second, it became a large building with a lot of guests inside it. "Oh," Naruto said. "I see what you mean; alright, which person should I transform into?"

"You can't use chakra here," Idate said. "They have detectors at the gates and they kill anyone using chakra. You need to impersonate other guests; luckily for you, we've already done that." Santoryu brought out a scroll and summoned an old man, who was almost completely naked. "His name's Jiro," Idate said. "His build is about the same as yours although he's a bit fatter."

Soon, Naruto was completely dressed as Jiro and Santoryu dyed his hair, making it pitch black. "Do I look like the original?" Naruto asked. Idate and Santoryu thought for a moment before nodding. "We've covered up your whisker marks, too," Santoryu said. "Now, make sure you remember this. Jiro is an official of King Kazuhiro, who is the ruler of the Land of Tea. You're there to discuss about getting more funds for the annual races in the Land of Tea."

"Got it," Naruto said. "What about my bodyguards?" Idate and Santoryu looked at each other before sighing. "Idiot," Idate grumbled. "What do you think we're here for? Jiraiya-sama would not leave everything up to a newbie like you." The blonde looked offended but didn't say anything; around ten minutes later, Idate and Santoryu were formally-dressed bodyguards of Jiro-sama.

"Are you guys going to stick with me the entire time?" Naruto asked. Idate shook his head and Santoryu said, "We'll eventually be taken to the main rooms at the side where we can rest or chat; chakra is allowed so we will use clones and then search around. Keep your eyes and ears open and make sure you get a pageful on this Raiga dude before lunch since he leaves after that!" The blonde nodded and the three of them leaped from the rooftop and entered the building after crossing the barrier.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mei-sama," Yugito bowed her head, not showing the red-head her emotions. "Have you seen where Naruto has gone?"

"Have you checked my room?" Mei asked, smiling. Yugito's face reddened as she started to walk towards Mei's room, intent on beating the life out of the blonde. "I'm just joking, Yugito-chan; he's on mission from Jiraiya. It's a spy mission on Raiga Kurosuki."

"WHAT?" Yugito asked, disappointed. "Why didn't Jiraiya-sama ask me? I have more experience than Naruto-"

"Exactly," Mei cut. "That guy's gonna have to learn someday that tactics and stealth is also one of the main tools to being shinobi. And this search for Tsunade is the perfect oppurtunity for Jiraiya to do that; besides, Jiraiya isn't getting any younger and he wants someone to handle the spy network after he's dead." Yugito nodded, subdued.

"I hope he won't be caught out," Yugito said, causing Mei's smile to broaden. There was no question that the two jinchuuriki were practically _made _for each other; to get a even further reaction, Mei decided to provoke Yugito a bit. "I love that guy," she purred, causing Yugito to stiffen. "He was the most amazing hands; the way he smoothed out my back yesterday and that six-pack!" She droned on as Yugito clenched her fists and teeth. _She doesn't deserve Naruto, _the Kumo jinchuuriki thought. The blonde had never felt anyone love him his entire life and Mei shouldn't be playing with him like he was some type of doll.

"He's isn't your servant, Mei-sama," Yugito finally said, letting her stern voice wash over the red-head. "If you knew about his past, you wouldn't be taking advantage of his innocence like you did, yesterday." _Oh but I do, _Mei thought. If Naruto's past had been _anything _like Yagura's, then Mei would have been a daily witness to the horrible things the villagers did since they couldn't distinguish between the prison and the prisoner.

"I do," Mei said softly, causing Yugito to turn around. "And I wasn't playing with him yesterday." She explained to Yugito about the Clan Restoration Act that would take place after Tsunade was brought back and Naruto became chunin. "WHAT?" Yugito asked, surprised. "You mean, Naruto has to take... _wives_... since he's the only bearer of the Rinnegan?"

"That's right," the red-haired beauty said. "And since I'm a young and dashing Mizukage, the Kages have decided that I should participate in this with Naruto. They will also choose several other people from the Shinobi Nations. Maybe it will be Samui from Kumo-"

"NO," Yugito burst out. "I mean, Naruto doesn't even know her. I would be a better choice since Naruto and I can relate to each other. Besides, I think that the blonde baka has a crush on me or something." _As if you don't, _Mei thought. She wondered why Yugito didn't just admit that she was infatuated with Naruto. Mei came to the conclusion that Yugito was probably, like a lot of girls, in denial since this was the first time ever liking somebody in such an intense way. Yugito soon left after that and the two didn't see each other until the evening.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was overwhelmed; it looked like a party was going on. There were lights and a lot of businessmen were present there, drinking wine and chatting about their villages. _Alright, _the blonde thought. _Now it's time to find this Raiga dude. _He waded through the crowd and tried to spot Raiga; he was supposed to have long, green hair and blue eyes. Idate and Santoryu told him that Raiga would be around the bar since he liked drinking beer instead of wine.

The blonde spotted a clothed man, drinking. He made his way there but was taken aside by some elderly man. "Ah, you must be Jiro-dono," he said, smiling. "How is King Kazuhiro?"

"Um, good," Naruto said, looking at Raiga for a second. "He sends his regards to you, uh..."

"Yashida," the man smiled. "Your memory seems to be slipping, Jiro-dono. I thought you were a man that kept everything in his mind."

"I'm getting old," Naruto said, using one of Jiraiya's jokes. "It gets harder to remember things, nowadays."

Yashida let loose a hearty laugh, "Nonsense; you are only middle-aged. I'm the one who is nearing his lifespan; I wonder what will become of Iwa after I die." Naruto took the note and made sure to remember these pieces of information.

"You still have another decade to go," Naruto said. "Now, if you will excuse me..." Yashida nodded and waved his hand; Naruto left and headed back to the bar, where Raiga was still sitting.

"A glass of beer, please," Naruto said. The bartender left and came back with a glass of beer. Naruto took it and took a sip. He made a face (which wasn't hard since beer is horrible) and turned to face the clothed Raiga. "They don't have good beer around here," the blonde said.

"True," Raiga commented. He turned and gave Naruto a smirk. "What was your name, again? Jiro of... where, again?"

"Jiro from the Land of Tea," Naruto recited. "I am one of the prime officials of King Kazuhiro." Raiga examined him and went back to his drink, finishing it in one large gulp. He wiped his mouth using his sleeve before turning to address Naruto.

"You don't seem like an official," Raiga said, looking at the blonde closely. "I've never seen an official look so strong and muscular. Do you work out in the Land of Tea?"

"Yes," Naruto said, rubbing his head. "You see, I was overweight for a while but began to take my shape more seriously. But I wouldn't say I look very muscular..."

"You do," Raiga said as the bartender refilled his glass. "So what have you come here for? I doubt it's to share words and drink beer with me. Didn't you say something about detesting beer, Jiro-san?"

"Uh, yeah," Naruto said, quickly improvising. "King Kazuhiro wanted me to learn of any changes to the small Nations; I still abhor beer although I _do _drink it in times of stress. Unfortunately, these guys don't have any good beer even for that?"

"You can have this," Raiga offered and poured Naruto some of his beer. "It's a much sweeter beer and you'll probably like it. So you're under stress, are you? I am the same, Jiro-san."

"Oh really?" Naruto focused on Raiga. "And what may that be?" Raiga laughed and finished his second glass in a large gulp, his green hair falling to his shoulders in a wild way.

"I have an apprentice," Raiga stated. "His name is Ranmaru; he's an amazing boy but has no taste for killing. We... had an argument today and he left us. I'm wondering what I should say to get him back."

"Well," Naruto said. "Ask him why he's angry and then explain to him how much he means to you. If you get Ranmaru-kun to understand you, then his anger might abate a bit." Raiga's eyes widened as Naruto said that; _this guy really understands people, _he thought.

"I'll try that," Raiga said, bowing his head. "I'm a ruthless man in battle but I always thank the ones who have helped me, Jiro-san." As he said that, Raiga left the bar and moved through the crowd. Naruto lost sight of him and pushed his glass of beer away, frowning. _Who on earth made this? _the blonde thought. Then, a man's voice broke through the microphone. "Hello, everyone," he said. "My name is Shingen and we are going to discuss the matters of small lands like us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto returned home, drained. He came in and crashed onto the bed. "Ero-Sennin," the blonde groaned. "I thought this mission would be difficult and dangerous; it was so boring and easy."

"Of course," Jiraiya said. "I wouldn't have given you a serious mission; this was an infiltrate-and-gather type of mission and you passed. Now, tell me what intel you gathered?"

"Not much," Naruto said. "Raiga is a bad guy but has a large heart. He also has an apprentice known as Ranmaru, who doesn't like killing people. Raiga and Ranmaru have clashing personalities and thoughts so they argue a lot. Idate and Santoryu found out that the Raiga here was actually a Water Clone and the real one is back in Katabami Kinzan."

"You passed," Jiraiya said. "Now this information will help us prepare for Ranmaru and we know that he uses Water Clones to go outside the Land of Rivers; tomorrow, we will wake up early and reach Katabami Kinzan since we're seriously falling back. It's been two days since Tsunade had been spotted there and is no doubt in another village somewhere. We have to catch up to her fast!"

"Got it," Naruto and Yugito said. Mei simply nodded and prepared to go to sleep. Naruto took the dinner that Jiraiya had kept for him, wolfing down the rice-balls. Then, since he was tired from the day, Naruto lay down on bed and closed his eyes. In a minute, the blonde had fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

So, Naruto will get to fight ANBU-level opponents now! Sorry I took so long to upload my last chapter but it's been a really long week. Well, anyways, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 15: **_The Mist Thunders_

"Have you found him?" Kisame asked as he met up with the others. Sasori and Deidara shook their heads while Konan told him what she had found. "Naruto Uzumaki, Yugito Nii, Jiraiya of the Sannin, and the Godaime Mizukage were at the local hotel a while earlier," she said.

"When did they leave?" Kisame asked, pleased that Konan had found something.

"They left in the early morning," the blue-haired woman said. "When I checked the room they were in, it seems that this group had been researching the Land of Rivers for some reason."

"Interesting," Kisame said, grinning widely. "One of the former Swordsmen of the Mist, Raiga Kurosuki, is in charge on the mining town. I think it was called-"

"Katabami Kinzan," Sasori said, his raspy cutting Kisame's sharp one. "I've heard of the Thunder of the Mist; he is an ANBU-level fighter and doesn't hesitate in cutting down his foes. If we manage to subdue the Mizukage and Jiraiya, Raiga will weaken the jinchuurikis enough for us to seize them."

"Good plan," Kisame said. "Alright, how far is Katabami Kinzan from here? We need to go fast to catch up with them since they left around four hours ago."

"They're already there," Deidara said. "The Land of Rivers should be around two or three hours on foot. However, we can use my art so it will only take an hour or so." Kisame, Konan, and Sasori smirked at the 'artist', who began to mold some clay. The clay expanded and became a large bird. The four nuke ninja jumped on it and flew off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto sighed, contentedly. "Thanks, Sanshou-san," he said. "This Curry of Life thing is really tasty; I'm completely full of chakra." Sanshou seemed happy and bowed her head. Jiraiya let out another content sigh as he added, "Especially after our three-hour journey. Thanks a bunch, Sanshou-san."

"No problem, Jiraiya-san," Sanshou said. "I've heard a lot about you, the Legendary Toad Sage. It's truly an honour to have a man like you compliment my cooking." Jiraiya laughed and rubbed his head, sheepishly while Naruto just looked at Jiraiya. _Wow, he's really suspectible to compliment, _the blonde thought. _A lot like me, huh?_

"By the way, Sanshou-san," Mei said, causing the elderly lady to look at her respectully. "Where did you learn this recipe?"

"This wasn't made by me," Sanshou said, looking sad. "The Curry of Life was personally made by my son, Karashi. He made it using herbs, vegetables, meat, and sauce. When you mix all those in a special ratio, you end up with the Curry of Life; if you add some more sauce, then the colour changes to red."

"Cool," Naruto smiled heartily. "I've never tasted anything as tasty and refreshing as this; I'm gonna come here more often after this search."

"I'm glad to hear it," Sanshou smiled. "You know-" They were interrupted as there was a large crash outside their door. The elderly lady's face paled as Naruto and Jiraiya attended to the door. The master and student opened the door and saw a dozen people sprawled on the floor.

"Yo, stay down," a man said to their life. Naruto and Jiraiya turned their heads to see a man wearing a jonin vest and ninja track-pants. He had a spiky haircut and seemed to be very fit. "If you cause us too much trouble, we're gonna have to get rough with ya. Raiga-sama has ordered us not to kill you since he wants to do so on his own, but the funeral is the main thing here so don't think we won't kill you."

"NOOOOO," one of them yelled. "We have kids and a family to feed; we don't want to die yet. W-Why c-can't R-Raiga-sama c-choose s-someone else t-to e-execute?" The man's face darkened with his bangs covering it; he walked up to the men. Then, he back-handed the man and sent him sprawling to the floor. "NEVER QUESTION RAIGA-SAMA AGAIN," the man said.

"Hey," Naruto yelled as he stepped out of the house. Jiraiya stayed back since he wanted to see how much Naruto had improved; he would step in if Naruto got in trouble but the Sannin doubted it. "Looks like we got a hero," one man from the gang said. "What's your name, tough guy?"

"Konoha's Rokudaime Hokage," Naruto smiled. "Naruto Uzumaki." The men in the gang looked at each and began to laugh. "Laugh at THIS," Naruto made a single hand-seal. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu.**" Three Nartuos came out of smoke and drew their blades. "W-What is this?" one of them asked. Naruto laughed in the same tone as them before the clones came in an orange blur from all directions, going through some delicate strikes.

The gang screamed together before they fell to the floor, bleeding. "Stay away from these people," Naruto said, dispelling his clones and sheathing his sword. "I don't care if your Raiga-sama is the boss around here; you NEVER treat anybody that way." The blonde could relate to his own childhood and how people were always trying to kill him, only to get caught in his pranks and traps. They would later disappear but Naruto knew Sarutobi had a hand in that.

"Y-You're going to regret this," one of them said, before passing out. Naruto waited for a second before he gathered up the injured men and took them inside Sanshou's shop. "Now, Raiga-sama is going to come," she trembled slightly. "He will cast his wrath upon us and we-"

"Nonsense," Naruto waved his hand. "This guy used to be a former Swordsman of the Mist so he's around jonin or ANBU-level; we have two Kage-level people in this place while Yugito-chan and I are jonin-level or so."

"Well," Sanshou calmed down considerably. "I really hope that things go your way; rumour has it that Raiga-sama is always accompanied by someone although people are never able to spot the other presence."

"Raiga has a shadow," Yugito asked. "It must be that Ranmaru he was talking about; you know, the one who always argues with him."

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Naruto said, scratching his head. "But it's kinda late now so Ero-sennin, we'd better get to the hotel and ask around for Tsunade-baachan."

"You're right," Jiraiya said. They set off after saying goodbye to Sanshou. The elderly smiled as she watched them go. _What lovely and kind people, _she thought. Then, the manager of the shop washed the plates and went upstairs to rest a bit. _Maybe Katabami's fate is finally changing, _Sanshou wondered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ero-sennin, did your spies tell you anything?" Naruto asked as he settled into the chair. "You were out for most of the day 'cuz of that; I hope you weren't doing your perverted research."

"Yes, you'd better not have," Mei said, cracking her knuckles. Jiraiya's face paled slightly but he regained his composure. "Contrary to what you may think," he said. "I've spent the entire day working; Tsunade apparently lost around 700 thousand ryou in a match yesterday. "You see, my former teammate is a real sucker when it comes to gambling."

"Then why does she do it?" Yugito asked, confused. "If she's not good at it then why doesn't Tsunade-sama get some other hobbies?"

"I don't know myself," Jiraiya said. "But I think that Tsunade is simply passing time, more like wasting, by doing all these pointless things."

"Not really," Mei said, surprising everyone. "Tsunade, even when she was a little girl, had a passion for going after things she sucked at. This was if she didn't have any other thing in the world to do and it would be fun to see the outcome. Gambling is one of them."

"Still seems like a stupid reason," Naruto said and Yugito nodded. Jiraiya and Mei sighed; the two were young and wouldn't understand the thoughts of the human mind. _He'll learn with me soon enough, _Mei thought, licking her lips. "Alright," Yugito said. "So what do we do?"

"My spies reported that Tsunade is getting closer to the Land of Birds," Jiraiya said. "Some nobles want to talk to her about some problem they have. Some kind of ghost or something. But Tsunade will probably just say she's not a ninja and wouldn't help them. We're going to head out tomorrow alright?"

"Hai," they said, together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What happened to Jiro, Ero-sennin?" Naruto asked, wondering about the man he had impersonated. "He was returned to the Land of Tea and his family, right?"

"But of course," Jiraiya waved his hand. "We're not enemies with the Land of Tea and Jiro-san has done nothing wrong; thus, we erased his memory and sent him back to King Kazuhiro's court."

"Oh, alright," Naruto said. "Hey, Ero-sennin, you need some new notebooks?" The white-haired pervert had finished writing his new Icha Icha Paradise book and had run out of paper.

"Um, yes," Jiraiya said, rubbing his head. "T-That w-would be nice, Naruto." The blonde nodded and changed out of his pyjama. He ate an apple and two sandwiches before going to the store.

"Hello, do you have any diary-size notebooks?" Naruto asked, thinking about the size of Jiraiya's Icha Icha books.

"Yes, of course," the man said. He knelt and took out the perfect notebook. Naruto thanked him and paid him the money; he quickly pushed the books in his ninja pack and walked down the street when he heard it. "THERE HE IS," a man yelled, throwing a kunai at Naruto. The blonde turned and caught the kunai between his index and middle fingers.

"So you're the one who interfered with my plans yesterday," Raiga said. He looked exactly like he had with Naruto before with his green, long, hair with blue eyes. Raiga also had thick lips and the rest of his body was cloaked heavily. _I'm going to have to be careful, _Naruto thought. _I need to locate Ranmaru since she shouldn't be far from here. _"Yeah, that's right," Naruto said. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Listen, Uzumaki," Raiga said. "I really love funerals so how about I just kill you and then bury your corpse? It'll give me a lot of fun." Naruto smiled and settled into a taijutsu stance. It was a good thing that nobody lived around this street and most of the markets were much farther up. This would allow the blonde to fight better than if he had to also protect civilians.

"You could try," Naruto gloated. "But I doubt you could catch me, Raiga." Raiga laughed and dashed towards Naruto, swords flashing. Then, Naruto dashed to the side, outpacing Raiga at his current level of speed. "See what I mean," Naruto said, causing Raiga to spin around in shock but he recovered quickly. "You are indeed very fast," Raiga said. "I see you're faster than I gave you credit for. Let's see you take them on; men, attack him." The men surrounded Naruto and Raiga moved back, hoping to Naruto take a long beating.

"I don't have time for small fish," Naruto said and activated his Rinnegan. "**Shinra Tensei.**" The men were all propelled off their fight and crashed into the brick walls behind them, knocking them out. Raiga looked at him in a new light and said, "So you have _the _Rinnegan; I don't think anybody aside from the Sage of the Six Paths have those eyes. You are very lucky." Naruto smiled but it was a tight smile; he didn't want Raiga to have anymore intel on his powers or it would be a problem.

"Well, let's see how you fare against me," Raiga drew his twin swords. "These are the Kiba and is one of the strongest swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist."

"By the way," Naruto said. "Do you know Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki?"

"Oh yes," Raiga said, his face getting darker. "And I despised them. They were both idiots and meddled in everything. Now, Zabuza's ended up dead while Kisame has joined some organization. I'd rather stay here and rule this village, kicking back and relaxing."

"Not for long," Naruto said and attacked Raiga. He drew his katana and clashed against one of Raiga's swords. Turning, he took out a kunai and blocked the other one. "I see you have some skill in kenjutsu," the former Swordsman said. "But I am the Thunder of the Mist; you have no chance of defeating me." To prove his point, he rotated his right hand and knocked Naruto's kunai out of his hand.

"**Shinra Tensei,**" Naruto yelled and Raiga flew backwards. He had to wait two minutes before he could use the technique again. Thus, Naruto was limited to his other battle paths: Preta and Animal Path since he hadn't learned how to use the Asura Path yet. He also had his five Kekkei Genkai at his disposal. "Nice technique," Raiga got up. "But looks like you can't spam that move." _Good analytic skills, _the blonde noted. But that was quite obvious since the guy was a former ANBU.

Naruto charged at Raiga, who deflected his strike before cutting at the blonde. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" he formed a shadow clone, who pulled him out the way and took the blow. The clone disappeared in smoke as Naruto cleaved down at Raiga's head. "Pathetic," the Thunder of the Mist stated. He easily parried Naruto's swing and sliced at the blonde. "**Swift Style: Orange Flash,**" Naruto yelled, as he disappeared in a blur of orange. Raiga's eyes widened when his sword cut through the air.

_Impossible, _Raiga thought. _Ranmaru hasn't told me anything so he's even faster than Ranmaru's eyes can follow. _He heard a whistle from his left and turned to see the grinning Naruto. "Took you long enough," the blonde grinned. "Am I too fast for the Thunder of the Mist?" As he said that, Raiga released an intense amount of chakra and said vehemously, "I see. You've become very excited by keeping up with me, so far. In that case, let's see how you fare against me when I'm serious."

Naruto's Rinnegan flared as he raised his sword as Raiga appeared in front of him. They clashed swords for a moment before Raiga began forcing Naruto back but the blonde yelled out, "**Shinra Tensei.**" Raiga was launched away from the scene but to Naruto's amazement, he got up to his feet in a moment and rushed towards Naruto. They exchanged a few blows before Raiga used his Kiba swords to pressure the blonde.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto yelled and formed a clone. Raiga turned to destroy the clone but the original stepped in the way and blocked Raiga's swords. "**Explosion Style: Exploding Dragon,**" Naruto's shadow clone said, going through the hand-seals. A large dragon of sparks appeared and crashed into Raiga, resulting in a large explosion. Naruto's clone dispersed and the original was sent flying back from the intensity of the detonation. _Did I get him?_ Naruto thought, his Rinnegan eyes trying to penetrate the smoke.

"You failed," Raiga's voice boomed out. "**Lightning Strike Armour.**" Then, the smoke cleared to reveal Raiga, who was completely engulfed in lightning chakra from head-to-toe. "How d-did you do that?" Naruto asked, amazed at the Thunder of the Mist's powers. Raiga chuckled and then set down another person; Naruto saw that it was a small boy, who had really long hair. _He's like Haku, _Naruto remembered his sparring partner back home.

"This is Ranmaru," Raiga introduced. "He's my partner and he has special eyes just like you: the Benigan. I wonder how you will take us both on." Naruto gulped and readied himself as Raiga dashed towards him; in a second, the Thunder of the Mist appeared before him and sliced at him. Naruto raised his blade to intercept the attack but the Kiba was covered in lightning chakra. The result was that Raiga cut through Naruto's blade as if it was butter. "**Dark Style: Shadow Inferno,**" Naruto yelled and a large torrent of shadows came at Raiga.

"RANMARU," Raiga yelled and Ranmaru's eyes glowed red. Immediately, Naruto froze and the shadows all fell to the ground. The blonde's diamond-like structure on his left hand faded out. "Did you get him?" Raiga asked and Ranmaru nodded. "He's in the genjutsu now," he said.

In Naruto's mind, he was surrounded by darkness and he could feel sharp spikes digging into his skin. _I'm in a genjutsu, _the blonde realized. He released his chakra and focused his eyes into breaking the genjutsu. Around five minutes later, Naruto found that he couldn't break the genjutsu. _Shit, what kind of doujutsu does that Ranmaru kid have?_ Naruto hoped that Mei-chan or Yugito-chan or even Ero-Sennin could help him in this battle since he couldn't break the genjutsu no matter how hard he tried. The spikes impaled him multiple times and Naruto felt a burning sensation around his neck. _I'm choking, _Naruto realized. He tried to move his arms and was met with a large stab of pain.

"Alright, let's finish him," Raiga yelled. "**Lightning Style: Lightning-**" He was kicked in the face before he could finish and was sent flying back. Jiraiya was recognized and he did his Toad Sage pose. "I'm Jiraiya of the Sannin," the old pervert said, introducing himself. "I am the legendary Toad Sage!" Raiga rubbed his cheek and stood up, a large grin marring his features.

"First I got to fight a Rinnegan-user," Raiga said. "And now, I get to fight one of the legendary Sannin himself. It's an honour, Jiraiya-sama." The old man's ego rose and he let out a sheepish chuckle, rubbing his white mane. Then, there were two sparks of lightning as Mei and Yugito appeared onto the battlefield. Raiga's grin disappeared and look of utter hatred appeared.

"Well if it isn't Mei Terumi," he spat her name out. "So you became the Mizukage, huh? I never would have guessed..." Mei just stood composed but she said in an equally displeased tone, "So this is what you've been doing since leaving our village? Destroying the innocent lives of another? How you've fallen, Raiga."

"SHUT UP!" Raiga yelled, surprising Ranmaru. He had never heard his mentor scream in such a tone before. "If your precious Yagura hadn't kicked me out then none of this would've happened. AND YOU; I saved your life once and you didn't say anything as Yagura banned me."

"You know why you were banned," Mei said. "I would have been betraying Kirigakure if I had lied. Now, I will kill you for what you've done to Naruto-kun." Raiga held up his twin swords but he was panicking innately. He couldn't fight Jiraiya, Mei, Naruto, and the other girl all at once; he would completely mutilated if he took them all on at once and Ranmaru would be taken away from him. _I'm gonna have to retreat, _he thought. Just as he was about to move, four people appeared in front of Raiga.

"Who are you guys?" the Thunder of the Mist asked. The four didn't reply and continued to gaze steadily at Mei, Jiraiya, and Yugito.

"Akatsuki, huh?" Jiraiya asked, surprising them. "I didn't think that Madara would send you four to get Naruto and Yugito already. But you needed to bypass me and Mei so that's why there are this many of you, am I right?"

"Indeed," Sasori said. "So it seems that young Naruto has informed you of everything, Jiraiya-sama."

"That's right," Jiraiya said. "And I think you should know that I WILL not and CAN not let anyone harm Naruto; I promised his father after all that I would look after him."

"I'm afraid," Kisame said. "This is one promise you will have to break." Sasori and Deidara stepped forward to face Mei but Kisame cut them off. "Please," the blue-skinned man said. "I want to fight Mei-chan; I'm sure she's missed me after so long."

"Get out of my sight," Raiga yelled. "Kisame, get out of here or I'll beat the living daylights out of you... again."

"That was last time, Raiga," Kisame said. "But I want to get things done so I will listen to you for once" Konan wanted to fight Jiraiya so she stood where she was, causing Jiraiya to raise an eyebrow at the hooded girl. _She wants to settle something by the looks of it, _the Toad Sage thought. Jiraiya, Konan, and Sasori went off to settle their battle in the forest. Mei, Kisame, and Deidara went off into the other direction to settle their battle.

"So it looks like we're going to fight again, Naruto," Raiga said. "But it's two-versus-two so it's quite even, I say." Naruto panted on the floor as Yugito released him from the exhausting genjutsu. "W-What was t-that?" the blonde asked, looking at Raiga. The Thunder of the Mist laughed and explained, "Ranmaru's Benigan allows him to place anybody in an irrestible genjutsu; only the Mangekyou Sharingan has the capabilities of beating the genjutsu with their Tsukiyomi skill."

"Naruto, stand back," Yugito said as Naruto struggled to his feet. "You're tired from the genjutsu so take a few minutes; I can handle Raiga and his apprentice. Besides, his Lightning Style shouldn't affect me too much since I have the same affinity. I also have the Nibi to call upon." Naruto nodded, not complaining, and sat down on the ground.

"So you're our new opponent?" Raiga laughed. "It doesn't matter; you two don't have any chance of taking me down. I'm an ANBU-level ninja and Ranmaru's Benigan doesn't have a weakness." _All doujutsus have a weakness, _Naruto thought. The Byakugan's weakness was its blind spot; the Hyuuga was not able to see what was going behind their back without losing sight of the front. The Sharingan's weakness was that it could be confused as it gave chakra different colours so techniques like the Hiding in Mist Jutsu would be effective against it. So the Benigan also had to have a weakness and Naruto would find it.

"**Lightning Strike Armour,**" Raiga said and covered himself in lightning chakra. Yugito growled and covered her claws in chakra. They clashed blades before entering a full-blown taijutsu fight; Yugito dodged Raiga's swords without much trouble and Raiga blocked her claws with ease. He had the longer reach with his Kiba although Yugito was faster, which didn't help since Raiga's lightning chakra armour protected very well.

_His armour will be resilient to my lightning jutsu, _the Kumo jinchuuriki thought. _I need to use the Fire Style then. _She reached into her holster and threw three shuriken at Raiga, who blocked them easily. "**Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu,**" she expelled a large number of fireballs at Raiga, who ran around the clearing to dodge them. He was surrounded eventually and used his own jutsu, "**Rock ****Avalanche.**" Raiga let loose a lot of chakra into the earth and several rocks fell outwards. The fireballs all collided into the large boulders, which became charred.

"I'm not done yet," Yugito said as she appeared above Raiga. "**Fire Style: Great Blaze Ball.**" Raiga increased his protection to its maximum and the Lightning Strike Armour flared with lightning chakra; he rotated his Kiba around the hilt even faster. A large sphere of fire crashed into Raiga, sending him plummeting backwards. As the smoke cleared, Raiga was still alive but his upper body was completely naked.

"Put on some clothes, Raiga," Yugito teased while Raiga's eyebrow ticked. He picked up his twin swords before resuming a calm look, "Your techniques are very strong; easily jonin-level and getting higher. Now, I will show you Lightning Style that surpasses even Kumo's best ninja."

"Nonsense," Yugito scoffed. "No Kiri ninja could possibly match Kumo in manipulating the Lightning Style; you're just bluffing since I-"

"I'll prove it to you," Raiga said. Then, he rushed towards Yugito at full speed. Since he didn't have his Lightning Strike Armour, the Kumo jinchuuriki couldn't see any trace of the Thunder of the Mist. She dashed to the side and was lucky enough to miss Raiga as he cleaved his sword into the ground. "Got lucky, eh?" Raiga grinned. "But my power exceeds even luck. Have a taste of real lightning!"

"Blah, blah, blah," Yugito came at Raiga, her claws glistening. "You have no chance against me!" Raiga smiled and blocked her fist blow. Then, without warning, he swiftly slammed the hilt of his other sword into Yugito's chin. As the jinchuuriki reeled back, Raiga channelled lightning chakra into his sword and cut off the claws on Yugito's left hand. "Aw, shit," she swore. "Indeed," Raiga said, his broad smile infuriating her. She charged at him but Raiga used his water jutsu, then.

"**Water Style: Wild Water Wave,**" Raiga said and released a large wave of water. It crashed into the incoming Yugito and swept her away. The Kumo jinchuuriki rose to her feet slowly and Raiga raised his swords. "**Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning,**" Raiga yelled and stabbed the Kiba into the ground. After a second, Yugito was assaulted by thunderbolts, which rose from the earth. Yugito felt her nerves tingling before she crashed into the ground, completely drained of her energy.

"You're already down? That's no fun," Raiga said. "Since you _did _give me a decent fight, I'll finish you with one of my strongest moves." He burst into lightning and gathered a large ball of chakra between the tips of his twin swords. "Behold," the green-haired man said. "**Lightning Ball.**" The sphere of lightning shot towards Yugito and caused a massive explosion.

Raiga began laughing maniacally. "MORE FUNERALS," he chuckled. "This means I get to have one more funeral. Now, for you, blondie." Naruto looked at the spot where Yugito was but simply smiled after a moment. "Look carefully there," he pointed to the smoke. "Your fight isn't done yet, Raiga." The Thunder of the Mist seemed confused but his eyes widened in realization. Yugito shot out of the smoke, covered in her Version 1 cloak, and yelled, "**Cat Claw.**"

Raiga hadn't managed to raise his swords and Yugito slashed her claws across Raiga's chest, sending him plummeting into the side of a building. "This is the power of the Nibi, bastard," Yugito growled. "You could never match the power of a Bijuu!" Her enhanced hearing picked up on a trickling noise and she saw Raiga emerge from the shadows of the broken building. He had a large gash across his torso and had limp arms from the crashing. "You don't look so good," Yugito remarked but Raiga just gave a deafening roar before charging Yugito.

She stabbed at Raiga but he pushed aside her hand; Yugito then tried to use her legs to propel Raiga into the air but he used the Kiba to block her legs, causing her to flip in the air. "**Super Cat Claw,**" Yugito yelled and smashed her fist into Raiga's abdomen with incredible speed. The area where Yugito had struck was completely blown away from the pressure but Raiga simply turned into lightning, shocking Yugito. _A lightning clone?! _Yugito thought. _I fell for it._

"Yes," a voice said behind her. "Now taste this, jinchuuriki. **Fangs of Lightning.**" Yugito was hit by a large stream of lightning, which rose from Raiga's twin swords. She fell to one knee and her chakra cloak ripped apart, holding onto a few places. "You actually thought I would engage you after taking a serious hit from you?" Raiga asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I wanted to test your new skills and it seems your new form grants you greater physical strength and taijutsu boost."

"There's more to it than that," Yugito said but Raiga waved it aside. "You haven't taken me down yet-"

"Oh please," Raiga laughed. "I've won this battle although you gave me some trouble. Now, tell me, do you want a slow or quick death?"

"How about neither?" Yugito said, looking up. "Look behind you and you'll realize your mistake." Raiga heard a swirling sound behind him and found Naruto there, a blue sphere in his hand. "**Rasengan,**" the blonde yelled as he rammed the rotating ball of air into Raiga's gut. He gave a yelp before flying backwards, hitting a tree. "W-What h-happened to R-Ranmaru?" Raiga managed to say.

"I didn't kill him," Naruto re-assured. "I don't think I could have brought myself to kill him when he's only following his dream. He wanted to protect you Raiga since you saved his life once."

"Exactly," Raiga said. "That's the reason why I'm dedicating the Land of Rivers to her, when she becomes an amazing shinobi. BUT WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER?"

"He's not dead," the blonde said. "I'm going to take him away and explain the truth to him; he belongs with Sanshou-sama and the others. You have no right to interfere with their lives." Raiga would have given a retort but he lost conscience before he could manage it.

"Yugito-chan," Naruto said. "Stay here and heal from your fight while I go check up on Mei-chan and Ero-Sennin, okay?"

"Alright," Yugito said, releasing her Version 1 cloak. "But Naruto, be very careful! These are Akatsuki members and they are after your tailed beast. You must not take any careless mistakes and-" Naruto silenced her by placing his finger to her soft lips. He smiled and just said, "Don't worry, Yugito. I'll be just fine." She nodded, relieved, since he always fulfilled his promises just like back at the Sound-Sand Invasion.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto summoned another clone of himself. "Go check on Ero-sennin," Naruto ordered and the clone set off. He knew that Jiraiya would be alright since he had a variety of ninjutsu, deadly taijutsu, and could defend himself against genjutsu. Ero-Sennin had also told him about that undefeated Sage Mode of his, which allowed him to defeat Orochimaru when the latter had used his strongest jutsu to reach the level of a Kage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We're gonna fight right here," Sasori said and tore off his cloak. "I am itching to kill you, Jiraiya of the Sannin."

"So you're Sasori, eh?" Jiraiya asked, unfazed by the sharp tail pointed at him. "Also known as Sasori of the Red Sand. Why would someone like you join Akatsuki?"

"That is none of your business, Sannin," Sasori said. "If you think you can get me to betray Akatsuki, just give up. You're going to die here so there is no point in telling you." He charged at Jiraiya and stabbed at him with his tail. Jiraiya leaped over Sasori and was assaulted by a ring of papers. "Two against one?" Jiraiya said, forcing a smile. "I see you Akatsuki ninja don't have any honour. **Needle Hell.**" Needles shot out of his white mane and ripped through Konan's paper.

He turned and ducked as Sasori's tail slashed through the air. "Oh, please," Jiraiya said. "I know that this is not your real body, Sasori."

"How did you know?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Only Sunagakure ninja-"

"Don't forget, I'm Jiraiya of the Sannin," Jiraiya grinned. "I run a spy network and this knowledge is quite fresh. I think a lot of people know it."

"What are going to do about it?" Sasori asked. Jiraiya smile deepened before he disappeared from sight. Sasori groaned as Jiraiya appeared underneath him and kicked him in the gut. As Sasori went flying back, Konan intervened and yelled, "**Paper Chakram.**" A large disc of paper shot towards Jiraiya but the Toad Sage simply yelled, "**Fire Style: Flame Bullet.**" Konan's paper was burned but Jiraiya heard a noise behind him and sidestepped on instinct.

"You should be more careful," Sasori said as his tail shot through the air where Jiraiya was. The Toad Sage moved back and readied himself. "My tail has poison on it and I don't think you have any resistance to it." _Shit, I wish I was Orochimaru right now, _Jiraiya thought. "Well, both of you are quite good," the Toad Sage complimented.

"Let's see you take this," Konan yelled. "**Paper Shuriken.**" Multiple large shurikens of paper were launched at Jiraiya while Sasori released some senbon with poison on them. "**Wind Style: Great Breakthrough,**" Jiraiya yelled and a gust of wind knocked back the projectiles. "My turn; **Toad Oil Bullet.**" He released a wave of oil, which covered all of Konan's body. "You should light up," the Toad Sage said, appearing closer. "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet.**" He shot off a stream of fire towards Konan but Sasori intervened.

"Not so fast, Sannin," Sasori yelled and took the stream of fire. As the flames burned through Sasori's body, a shape flashed out of it. "So you've finally revealed yourself," Jiraiya said, smiling. "Sasori of the Red Sand." Some distance away from him, a red-haired youth was standing there. He looked like Gaara although seemed slender and did not have the dark rings surrounding his eyes.

"Behold, Jiraiya of the Sannin," Sasori said. "This is my real self; allow me to introduce you to one of my most powerful puppets." He took out a scroll and put his hand onto the symbol there. "**Summoning Jutsu,**" Sasori yelled and the puppet of the Third Kazekage appeared. "Are you shocked, Jiraiya of the Sannin?"

"T-The T-Third K-Kazekage," Jiraiya said as he looked at the puppet. _I hope the puppet's not at full power, _Jiraiya hoped, thinking at the Third Kazekage's famous Magnet Style bloodline. "So you were the one that took his body? They say that he was never found!"

"That's right," Sasori said. He looked at Konan and added, "Stand back and watch _my _art." Konan didn't say anything but took a few steps back. Jiraiya crouched and got ready. Then, the puppet of the Third Kazekage charged at Jiraiya, its poisonous fangs coming at him. Jiraiya moved back and threw some shuriken at it but the Third Kazekage flicked them aside. It cleaved at Jiraiya but the Toad Sage dodged the attack and kicked the Third Kazekage in the face.

_Good, _Jiraiya thought. _Since Sasori is manipulating the Third Kazekage, he is nowhere near his Kage-level. _"**Needle Jizo,**" Jiraiya yelled and covered himself in his white mane. The Third Kazekage's claws got stuck in Jiraiya's rough hair. "Having some trouble, Sasori?" Jiraiya laughed as he slammed his legs into the Third Kazekage's chest, sending him sprawling back.

"You dealt with that quite well," Sasori said. "But how will you deal with this?" The puppet's left arm elongated out of the cloak and opened to reveal some seals on them. Jiraiya's eyes widened as he recognized the fuuinjutsu; he quickly rushed backwards and hands sprouted out of the seals, coming towards Jiraiya. "Shit," the Toad Sage swore. "That is one of the most troublesome seals ever."

"Having some trouble, old man?" Sasori laughed mirthlessly. "You have no hope against the Third Kazekage."

"Fool," Jiraiya said, going through some hand-seals. "**Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld.**" A lot of the hands were stopped by the rising swamp and the Third Kazekage was stuck in the ground. "Now, to finish this up," Jiraiya declared, going through some more hand-seals. "**Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.**" He released a large torrent of flames that took the shape of the dragon. They burned the hands easily and charred the Third Kazekage, severing Sasori's chakra ties to it.

"Very skilfully executed, Jiraiya," Sasori admitted. "You are indeed worthy of your name. But if you think that the Third Kazekage is down so easily, you have another thing coming." Sure enough, the Third Kazekage rose up and looked blankly at Jiraiya. Sasori was back in control of the puppet again as he made another series of chakra strings.

"Now I think I should introduce you to the famed Magnet Style," Sasori said. Then, from the ground, black wisps began to rise before it was turned into sharp blades. _So this is the Magnet Style, _Jiraiya realized. Sarutobi had told him about it when the Third Kazekage had explained to Sarutobi about his powers. The Magnet Style allowed the user to control ferromagnetic substances and the Third Kazekage was specialized in using the Magnet Style to control Iron Dust, which was abundant in Sunagakure.

"**Wind Style: Divine Wind,**" Jiraiya yelled and released a large breath of wind. It hit the blades of Iron Dust and they were momentarily led of course but shot back towards Jiraiya. _I need a diversion, _the Toad Sage thought. "**Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning,**" Jiraiya yelled and expelled a large cloud of smoke. It blocked Sasori and Konan's eyes, allowing the Toad Sage to get away.

"Man, I wouldn't have thought they would be so strong," Jiraiya said to himself. _I'll have to come up with a plan, _he thought. Sasori was still an amateur at using the Magnet Style while Konan wouldn't interfere until Sasori was badly injured. He couldn't summon Pa or Ma since they were still recovering from the battle with Orochimaru.

"Where did he go?" Sasori asked while Konan shrugged. "He used that last attack to get away from us."

"I know him, Sasori," Konan said, looking at the red-haired youth. "It will take him a while to get a plan through his head. We should use this time to come up with a plan of our own." Sasori nodded and they began to talk on how they could take down Jiraiya.

Around ten minutes later, Jiraiya decided to show himself. "**Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu,**" the Toad Sage yelled and a fireball rushed towards Sasori and Konan. The Third Kazekage gathered Iron Dust and it ripped through the fireball with no effort. "**Water Style: Wild Water Wave,**" Jiraiya yelled and a wave crashed towards the two Akatsuki ninja. Sasori repeated the same thing again.

"**Needle Hell,**" Jiraiya let loose a flurry of senbon at Sasori. But the Iron Dust did not rise as fast and the Third Kazekage was hit by the senbon. "What have you done?" the red-haired youth yelled. "Why doesn't my Magnet Style work?"

"You've never been to a beach, have you?" Jiraiya laughed. "If you mix water with sand, it will naturally become heavier. And since this is Iron Dust, my job becomes easier. And it's not _your _Magnet Style, it's the Third Kazekage's. You will never be able to control it to the degree he could." Sasori's eyebrow ticked and the Iron Dust rushed towards Jiraiya.

"Geez, you don't understand do you?" Jiraiya asked. He disappeared in a flash and appeared above the puppet. He cleaved downwards with his fist and managed to tear the puppet in half. Sasori was quickly and smashed his elbow into the Toad Sage's face but Jiraiya disappeared in smoke. _A shadow clone? _Sasori realized but it was too late. "**Barrier: Toad Gourd Prison,**" Jiraiya yelled and Sasori was taken into the belly of Jiraiya's red toad, which disappeared in smoke. "So it's just you, eh?" he looked at Konan.

"Indeed," Konan said. She then took off her hood and Jiraiya's eyes widened. "NO, it can't be," Jiraiya said, his jaw dropping. "I h-heard that you were d-dead."

"Apparently not, Jiraiya-sensei," Konan said, smiling slightly. "Don't worry. You're not hallucinating; this is really me, Konan."

"But what happened to you?" Jiraiya asked. "Why did you join Akatsuki? Where are Yahiko and Nagato?"

"If you must know, sensei," Konan's face darkened considerably. "I'm one of the founding members of Akatsuki, under Yahiko, Nagato, and Madara. Besides, if we are successful, then a new world can be made."

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked confused. "I thought the Akatsuki wanted the tailed beasts for their own twisted purposes."

"You're very misinformed, sensei," Konan laughed. "Madara Uchiha plans to use the power of the nine Bijuu to fuel his ultimate jutsu: the Infinite Tsukiyomi. As you know, the Juubi is the combination of all of the tailed beasts. If Madara manages to become the jinchuuriki of the Ten-Tails, he can use the Juubi's power to put this world under a genjutsu where only peace exists."

"BUT WHAT IS THE POINT OF THAT?" Jiraiya asked, enraged. "Such peace is artificial and you will have achieved nothing but destruction in reality. Instead, we should be working on changing the shinobi system and ending the never-ending cycle of hatred. With your help, I can-"

"You can't do anything, sensei," Konan yelled. "I've lost Yahiko to Hanzo since he harboured hatred for our organization and Nagato lost his life when he tried to capture the Kyuubi. Shinobi don't have any feelings and are only here to kill people that are doing the wrong thing. My lover and best friend had to pay for this; nothing you say will stop me from destroying Naruto, taking the Kyuubi, and the eyes that he doesn't deserve!"

"You're wrong," Jiraiya said. "Naruto is everything that Nagato once stood for and more. He works hard to be acknowledged and has the guts to never give up. He is the combination of Yahiko's determination and Nagato's eyes. He is the legacy of the Yondaime Hokage _and _the Sage of the Six Paths! I will NOT allow you to destroy all of their dreams by taking Naruto."

"You're a fool, sensei," Konan sneered. "You actually believe that runt can change the cycle of hatred; as long as there is love, there will be wars. When there are wars, there is loss and pain. When there is pain, hatred is born. This hatred gives rise to new pain and hatred. And thus, this cycle will continue to go. Yahiko never realized this and my poor dear had to lose his life to understand."

"And... Nagato?" Jiraiya asked and Konan's face assumed a look of further sadness.

"He realized," Konan said softly. "Nagato understood this and worked personally for Madara using the Rinnegan. And then, he was killed by your Yondaime Hokage and-"

"Sealed inside Naruto," Jiraiya said, leaving Konan in shock. "The Yondaime sealed a part of Nagato's conscience into Naruto and he taught Naruto a lot of skills. He redeemed himself by teaching the future saviour of this world. And you want to kill him!?"

"Lies," Konan spat. "Nagato could have used his Preta Path to absorb enough chakra to leave Naruto's conscience; you're just trying to trick me, aren't you, Jiraiya-sensei? I know you and your mind games. Now, I will take care of you and then, Naruto is next!" She released an enormous amount of chakra, shocking Jiraiya. _You've definitely grown, Konan, _Jiraiya acknowledged sadly. _But you lost the guts and will you had back then; you've gotten much weaker! _"I'm sorry, Konan," Jiraiya said. "I understand that losing Yahiko and Nagato has made you sad and broken; but I would have never thought that you would let Madara entice you into joining his plan to building this artificial peace."

"You don't understand anything, sensei," Konan yelled. "Do you know something; I despised you for leaving us! You were the legendary Sannin and yet you left us after training us. Yahiko and Nagato understood that. They were being stupid-"

"ENOUGH," Jiraiya said, releasing his own chakra. "I left since I had taught you everything I could think off. I expected great things from you and I even heard that Yahiko had built an organization that was helping to stop the war. I was so proud of you three! You were my great achievements in life. To think that Yahiko died pursuing that dream is an heroic act in itself. Nagato redeemed himself and I'm still proud of him for that."

"DON'T SPEAK OF NAGATO, SENSEI," Konan yelled. "You don't know anything about what happened to him. You only knew us for three measly years-"

"I know," Jiraiya said, speaking slowly. "I may not have been there for you guys. But I have the knowledge that if you readily give your own doujutsu to a newborn baby to help save the world, I know that Nagato would have spat at you for trying to kill Naruto and taking his eyes."

"Impossible," Konan whispered. "Nagato gave Naruto his eyes? So the brat didn't awaken the Rinnegan?"

"No," Jiraiya said. "He gave Naruto his Rinnegan eyes since he also believed in him. Just like I do! Just like the Yondaime, Rikudou Sennin, and Yahiko do even in their deaths!"

"Thank you, sensei," Konan said, a maniac smile playing on her lips. "You have just given me an even better reason to take Naruto's eyes. To think that monster had Nagato's Rinnegan, if only I had known sooner. Now, time to end your life, sensei." Kisame had been knocked out from Jiraiya's binding technique so Konan had to finish her former sensei with this jutsu. "Prepare yourself, sensei," Konan cackled. "Your death is finally here, you stupid old man."

"I'm sorry, Yahiko, Nagato," Jiraiya said, shedding a tear. "I tried to help Konan but she didn't listen to me. This is not the Konan we knew! I won't let her destroy your dreams. They mean too much to me." He wiped his eyes before going through some hand-seals. "So you're finally read, sensei?" Konan said, the look of a murderer on her face. "I'm itching to kill you now."

"I'll destroy you with the Rasengan of guts and dreams," Jiraiya declared, gathering a large sphere in his hands. "**Giant Guts Rasengan.**" He pooled all of his natural energy into the sphere, intent on protecting the ninja way of his students and the Sage of the Six Paths. "So that's your best is it, sensei?" Konan sneered and slammed her palm on the ground. "**Paper Ocean Jutsu.**"

Clone Naruto appeared to see two large powers colliding against each other. Then, he was blasted a wave of wind and light water. There was an enormous explosion and when it cleared, Clone Naruto gasped in surprise as the entire landscape was split in half. To add to that, the surface of the earth was completely blown apart from a wind-based attack and several underground layers of soil were damaged heavily. It looked like Shukaku had appeared and trampled over the valley.

Clone Naruto spotted Jiraiya standing on one side, clothes tattered, while a blue-haired woman was on the ground on the other side. _That's Konan, _Naruto realized as he recognized the colour of the hair and Akatsuki coat. _Wait, something's wrong, _Clone Naruto realized. _Why isn't Ero-Sennin finishing Konan?! _He quickly headed down to enter the almost concluded battle.

"What's wrong, sensei?" Konan asked, smiling. "Can't bring yourself to finish your student?" Jiraiya stood there, his teeth clenched. He brought up his hand and willed himself to attack the defenceless Konan. "I thought so," she grinned. _Come on, Jiraiya, _the Toad Sage urged himself. _You're making the same mistake Sarutobi-sensei did with Orochimaru.__  
_

But Jiraiya couldn't do it; he stared at Konan and the images of a little blue-haired girl filled his head. Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato... their Ame team back then with Jiraiya as sensei. Konan... she was the cute one and always tried to get Yahiko to compliment on her skills. She always tried to beat the genius Nagato. _Konan, _the Toad Sage thought as he looked at the blue-haired girl in front of him. Maybe she would change and not become like Orochimaru, maybe...

"ERO-SENNIN," Naruto's voice broke his train of thoughts. He turned to see Naruto running towards him, sporting several scratches and bruises. His clothes were dirty and ragged. "It's just a shadow clone," Konan said, causing Jiraiya to look at her. His eyes widened since Konan was turning into paper. _DO IT, JIRAIYA, _he told himself and raised his hand again. He tried to generate a Rasengan but he couldn't do it; as his hand fell to his side, Konan gave an evil laugh before turning completely into paper.

"I couldn't do it, Naruto," Jiraiya said as Clone Naruto came towards him. "She meant a lot to me and I just couldn't do it." Now, Jiraiya being Jiraiya, he punched Clone Naruto in the face and watched as the shadow clone disappeared in smoke. Jiraiya tried to convince himself that Konan would not become like Orochimaru but he knew, deep down in his heart, that she would become even worse and wouldn't change in the least. _I'm sorry, Yahiko, Nagato, Minato... Naruto, _Jiraiya thought as tears fell from his eyes. _I just couldn't kill that little girl from Amegakure that I saved from the jaws of death._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mei looked at Kisame and Deidara. "We aren't partners," Kisame said to Deidara. "But you know my style right?"

"Yeah," Deidara grinned. "The 'cut-to-ribbons' right? My style is simply explosions."

"Such a barbaric duo," Mei chided. "But I'm afraid I need to take you two down so I can join Naruto-kun."

"We can't let you do that," Deidara said and Kisame nodded in agreement. "We need the Kyuubi and Nibi and you're getting in the way. So we're just going to have to take you down."

"Don't underestimate her," Kisame warned. "This is the Godaime Mizukage and has two Kekkei Genkai at her disposal. While she may not look it, this chick can really beat the stuffing of you in taijutsu."

"Relax, Kisame-sempai," Deidara said and molded some clay. "And remember, art is an explosion!" He threw some clay bugs at Mei and caused them to explode. However, Mei rushed out of the smoke and punched Deidara in the face before he could respond. _Shit, _the blonde-haired Akatsuki member thought. _I should have listened to Kisame-sempai. _

"Idiot," Kisame said. He waved his sword at Mei, who simply dodged the weapon. "So how's Choujuro, Mei?"

"Good," Mei said, clenching her teeth. "He's wondering when he can battle you so he can take his revenge."

"Still upset about that?" Kisame was surprised when Mei kicked Samehada's bandage part and he was moved back several paces. _Such a strong woman, _the blue-skinned man thought. _I can have some fun. _"ART IS AN EXPLOSION," a voice said behind them and Deidara was on a clay dragon. "This is C2, a marvellous piece of art!"

"Not really," Mei said, causing Deidara's eyebrow to tick. The clay dragon opened its mouth and shot out several clay projectiles at Mei. "KATSU," Deidara yelled as they reached her, resulting in large explosions. Kisame added his own technique, "**Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu.**" An enormous blue shark rushed into the smoke, causing earth to fly out.**  
**

"Are you still alive, babe?" Deidara called, feeling smug. However, his jaw dropped when Mei emerged out of the rubble, completely unscathed. Kisame was also surprised but he could see that she used the Lava Style to create a defence around herself. He turned and saw the spot where she had been standing and it had lava falling to the floor. _She could be even stronger than Yagura, _Kisame thought. _It's a good thing Madara will keep her under a genjutsu. _"So you've improved," Kisame said to her.

"So have you, Kisame," Mei smiled. "And you're still no match for me." Kisame growled and charged at her but Mei dodged his first blow and sidestepped his second one. However, he caught her on the third one and she was sent flying back. "You were saying, Mei-chan," Kisame said, grinning smugly. "DID YOU GUYS KNOW?" Deidara's retarded voice boomed out. "ART IS NOTHING BUT AN EXPLOSION." The clay dragon shot out another series of projectiles but Mei went through some hand-seals.

"**Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu,**" the Mizukage yelled and expelled a large amount of lava. It created a roof above her head and it absorbed the clay projectiles. "KATSU," Deidara yelled from above but the cloud of lava had already broken the clay projectiles. The blonde-haired Akatsuki member grunted in displeasure and flew towards Mei. "Eat this," he drew up a lot of chakra. "KATSU!" Deidara jumped off before he said that and the entire C2 dragon exploded.

"**Lava Style: Magma Shield,**" Mei yelled and surrounded herself in a dome of molten lava. Kisame raised an eyebrow, _So that's the technique she used earlier as well. _The explosion of the dragon rained down upon her and Mei couldn't help but think that Naruto's usage of the Explosion Style was more powerful than Deidara's. It was amazing since Naruto hadn't even used his Explosion Style for two months while Deidara had used the bloodline his entire life.

"Come out from there," Deidara yelled and Mei came up with a plan. Since Deidara was a blockhead, she doubted that he would notice until it was too late. She let her defence fall to the ground and came out. "Finally," the blonde said while Kisame grunted. _She's up to something, _the blue-skinned man noticed as he caught the glint in Mei's eyes.

"**Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu,**" Mei said and a large dragon appeared out of the water and came at them. Kisame just laughed and went through some hand-seals, "**Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu.**" A large vortex of water appeared and crashed into the water dragon, destroying it in the process. "There is no way you can defeat us with jutsu like that," Kisame said.

"Looks like you're right," Mei said. Then, Deidara gave a roar and charged at her. He meld some clay and threw the bugs at her before yelling, "KATSU." There was another explosion but Mei disappeared in water. _A water clone, _Kisame realized. He quickly turned and found Mei's plan. "DEIDARA," Kisame bellowed. "GET THE HELL AWAY."

"I'm afraid it's too late," Mei said. "**Boil Style: Skilled Mist Jutsu.**" Deidara was lucky since he was covered in clay otherwise he would have melted from Mei's Kekkei Genkai. However, he was very unlucky since the clay began to explode from getting so much heat from Mei's jutsu; Deidara controlled as much of the explosive chakra as possible but ended up being a charred, burned, blonde. "KISAME-SEMPAI," he wailed. "HELP ME HERE."

"YOU IDIOT," Kisame said. "It's your own fault you're in this mess. So shut up and collapse!" Deidara gave a final wail before he fell on the floor, completely knocked out. Mei looked at Kisame, who simply said, "What are you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Mei said, "that you still don't know the meaning of teamwork, do you? Your arrogance will-"

"Lead to your demise," Kisame said. "I'm never going to get that crap. Why would you accept the help of someone who is far weaker than you? Besides, I can take you down since I've gotten way stronger than when I was in the village. You don't even have enough experience to match me."

"We'll see about that," Mei said."Try to kill me, then." Kisame roared and charged at Mei, swinging Samehada with full force. She dodged barely and a tree was pulverized behind her from the force generated by Kisame's swing. He quickly turned and gave Mei a roundhouse kick. Mei quickly batted it aside and punched at Kisame, who used his free hand to deflect it.

"Now," he smiled triumphantly. "It's time to execute my plan. **Water Style: Great Exploding Water Shockwave.**" Mei was blasted by water and after a few minutes, she found herself surrounded by water. Kisame floated over towards her and laughed. "Time to show you why they call me the Tailless Tailed Beast," Kisame yelled. He underwent a horrific transformation; Samehada was seemingly absorbed by his body. His Akatsuki cloak became tatters and his muscle popped out. His head protruded outwards and the gills around his body grew larger.

_What is that? _Mei thought. She gathered up her chakra to prepare a lava jutsu when Kisame would attack her. Kisame gave a primal roar as he grew large scales around his hands and legs. He yelled again and sprouted a tail before his back expanded, becoming sharp like a blade. _He looks like a humanoid shark, _Mei thought frantically. _And his chakra level is comparable to that of a Bijuu! _Realizing her disadvantage, Mei began to swim away from Kisame and towards the edge of the water dome but Kisame just yelled, "**Water Prison Shark Dance Jutsu.**" Then, he shot towards her at great speed.

Mei turned to him and thought, "**_Lava Style: Lava_ Globs.**" A blast of lava shot towards Kisame but the fire peeled off due to the surrounding water. Kisame easily crushed the wet rock with a slice of his hands. Mei gave a cry as Kisame kneed her in the gut. He brought both hands down and hit her in the small of her back and there was a sick crunch of bones breaking, causing her to go crashing through the water. "How weak you are, Terumi," Kisame laughed as he sped towards her. The blue-skinned man gave her numerous bone-shattering attacks and beat her to near unconsciousness.

"What's wrong?" he asked, shaking her face. "Your pretty little face doesn't seem so attractive now." Mei glared at him and punched but Kisame simply grabbed it; he squeezed and Mei felt her knuckles crack. She cried and water went into her lungs, causing her vision to get blacker and blacker. Kisame kicked her away and watched as she was swept away. "I really wish I could kill you, Terumi," Kisame said, sneering at the drifting Mei.

"**Fire Style: Toad Oil Running Fire,**" a rough voice said outside the water dome. Kisame looked up and then, the entire water dome was evaporated. Naruto was revealed, standing atop Gamabunta. "Thanks, Chief Toad," Naruto yelled and Gamabunta just grunted before disappearing. He leaped and caught Mei as she was falling, holding her bridal style.**  
**

_Is this... Naruto-kun? _Mei wondered. She felt warm arms holding her and the familiar scent of Naruto cloud her nose. Naruto fell to the ground and set Mei down onto the ground. "Mei-chan," he pleaded as he lightly slapped her face. "Please wake up, Mei-chan!" She didn't respond and Naruto put his ear to her heart. He could still hear it beating but getting fainter. He needed to get her some air! But how?

_Wait, didn't they say that kissing would help a person get air? You had to blow into the person's lungs, right? _Looking at Mei's gravely face, Naruto blocked any embarrassment he had and bent down. He pressed his lips against hers and blew for as long as possible before moving away, panting. Naruto checked to see if Mei was breathing or not and to his delight, her chest began to raise and Mei took deep breaths.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Mei asked, looking at the blonde. Naruto nodded and hugged her, happy that she was alive. "H-How a-am I alive?"

"I kissed you," Naruto said, causing Mei's eyes to widen and blush. "I had to since you were running low on air. Are you alright, now?" Mei loved the concerned look that Naruto was giving her, wishing Yugito could be there. "I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun," she said before she thought back on the opponent. "Naruto-kun, Kisame is still here and he-"

"Don't worry," Naruto stood up. "I'll make sure he can't move for the rest of his life! Trust me, I won't let him come anywhere near you!" If Mei had been in proper shape, she would have giggled at Naruto's protectiveness but she could only cough. Naruto looked at Mei and clenched his teeth, beginning to lose his temper. Mei was completely beat up! Her clotes were tattered and she had numerous bruises all over her body as well as some lethal gashes.

He remembered Yugito's lessons and controlled himself since he didn't want the Kyuubi to rampage here. Naruto activated his Rinnegan and scanned the area for Kisame, cracking his knuckles. He spotted the man, hiding under some boulders. "**Shadow Clone Jutsu,**" Naruto formed a shadow clone and brought out the Rasengan. He used his Swift Style and disappeared in an orange blur; the next second, Naruto had smashed his Rasengan into the boulders, catching Kisame by surprise.

"Surprise, surprise," Naruto said enraged. "Today, you're going to meet your death at my hands." Kisame just chuckled, which became a full-grown laugh. He stopped laughing eventually when Naruto yelled, "**Shinra Tensei.**" The blue-skinned man went crashing through the trees as Naruto's jutsu hit him square in the chest. Kisame spluttered out some blood and stood up, slowly. Naruto appeared in front of him using the Swift Style.

"So you've gotten stronger, eh?" Kisame said, wiping his chin. "But this is the real me, not some imposter with a fraction of my power. You can't survive-" Before he could react, Naruto had grabbed his face and _threw _him away. Kisame gave a cry of pain as he tore through another series of trees, coughing up even more blood. Naruto calmly took off the weights around his arms and legs as Kisame rose to his feet.

Kisame held out his hand and Samehada came to him from the other section of the woods. He gave a roar and charged at Naruto but the blonde easily dodged his swings. After sidestepping Kisame's stab, Naruto dug his fist into the blue-skinned man's abdomen and drove him back with amazing force. "**Water Style: Five Feeding Sharks,**" Kisame yelled and five sharks rose out of the stream at Naruto.

"**Lightning Style: Riot of False Darkness,**" Naruto said as he held numerous long bolts of lightning. He threw them at the sharks and the lightning easily pierced through the water. "Where are you going, bastard?" Naruto yelled as he saw Kisame running away. "**Bansho Ten'nin.**" Kisame yelped as he was attracted towards Naruto. The blonde grabbed the incoming Kisame by the throat and crashed him into the ground.

"**Water Style: Wild Water Wave,**" Kisame said and he repelled Naruto away by expelling a large blast of water. Naruto groaned as he pushed back but he used his Preta Path to absorb the water. "W-What is that jutsu?" Kisame asked, backing away. "Where did my jutsu disappear?"

"**Blocking Jutsu Absorption Seal,**" Naruto said. "My Rinnegan allows me to use this technique to absorb any ninjutsu my opponent uses. **Dark Style: Shadow Glare.**" A string of shadows batted against Kisame, sending the blue-skinned shark flying away. "You're not getting away," Naruto said as he appeared next to Kisame in an orange flash. "I'm not done with you yet, you woman-beater. **Explosion Style: Landmine Fist.**"

Kisame gave a wail of pain as his back exploded. He went flying in the other direction, destroying an enormous portion of the forest. Naruto had just put his hand on Kisame's naked back and he had felt the greatest pain ever. Kisame lay there on the floor, his back bleeding badly. _Am I really going to die? _the blue-skinned man wondered. He didn't have a lot of time to contemplate that because Naruto materialized in front of him, his Rinnegan flaring in anger.

"You could have killed her," Naruto said as he looked at Kisame. "I would have lost one of my precious people; the people that acknowledge me." He stepped on Kisame's head, grinding it into the earth. Kisame groaned but learned the lesson in humility. "But it's still too early for you to die," the blonde said, sadistic for the first time in his life. "**Explosion Style: Holy Burst.**" Sparks flew out of Naruto's hand and Kisame's body was surrounded in light. As Naruto backed away, Kisame's body received a large burst of explosive chakra and there was a massive explosion.

"P-please stop, N-naruto," Kisame pleaded, his body a bloody mess. "I w-will n-never-" He couldn't finish since Naruto yelled, "**Crystal Style: Hexagonal Shuriken.**" Kisame let loose an earth-shattering scream of pain as the blue crystal shuriken embedded themselves in Kisame's body. He began coughing up blood while Naruto looked up, no remorse showing in his features. "SHUT UP," the blonde yelled and Kisame silenced himself. "Now, for the final move. **Dark Style: Shadow Stab.**" The ninja known as Kisame Hoshigaki of the Hidden Mist was no more as the torrent of shadows hardened and impaled the blue-skinned man.

Jiraiya and Yugito would later find a bloodied Naruto with the corpses of Kisame and Deidara along with a gravely injured Mei. Naruto dragged the bodies across the floor, leaving a line of blood, while Mei hung on his back. Jiraiya couldn't help but shudder since Naruto reminded him of Minato when he would not spare any enemies that tried to harm the people close to him. _Their personalities are so similar, _Jiraiya thought. _Yet so different_

Yugito couldn't help but wonder what happened. Naruto held the two bodies with absolutely no emotion while Mei looked like she had been starved and beat to an inch of her life. _Naruto-kun, _she thought when the blonde had set Mei on a bed and isolated himself in his room. Jiraiya had gathered up the two corpses and left with them; no doubt to submit them to the closest police station. "I hope he's alright," Yugito said to herself, worried. "He's still the same Naruto-kun... right?"


End file.
